Biochar\u2019s been called black gold \u2013 a once-and-done fix to enhance nutrient-poor and droughty soils. But how do the claims hold up when applied to the soils of North Carolina\u2019s Sandhills?<\/p>\n
To find out, NC State University horticultural science associate professor and Extension specialist Mike Parker has launched a new biochar research project at the Sandhills Research Station in Jackson Springs.<\/p>\n
As Parker explains, biochar looks like ground-up charcoal: It is made from organic matter \u2013 such as wood chips, sawdust and rice hulls — that\u2019s been heated to high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment. Among its touted benefits: higher crop yields, greater soil fertility and water-holding capacity, fewer tree replant issues, and even carbon sequestration that could mitigate climate change.<\/p>\n
Parker wants to find out if Sandhills farmers could benefit from biochar made of pine residue, which is plentiful in the area. Earlier this year, he planted peach trees in four treatments \u2013 one where the soil hasn\u2019t been amended, and three where he applied biochar in different ways and in different rates. In one case, he applied the biochar to the surface of the soil, and in two others, he incorporated different amounts to a depth of one foot.<\/p>\n
Although using biochar for agriculture and gardening has recently gotten widespread attention, it\u2019s actually an ancient practice: Thousands of years ago, farmers in the Amazon basin used biochar to turn some of the worst soils into \u201cterra preta\u201d \u2013 or patches of black soil that remain fertile today.<\/p>\n
Parker\u2019s project is funded in part by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services\u2019 Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. It has several objectives: to see if biochar affects the soil\u2019s nutrient holding capacity and content, if it increases the soil\u2019s water-holding capacity and if it alters nematode populations that contribute to a significant disorder known as peach tree short life. Parker will also be studying the impact on peach tree survival, productivity and profitability.<\/p>\n
Not only could the project yield economic benefits, it could also have environmental advantages, reducing runoff and leaching of fertilizers as well as minimizing the use of valuable water resources and expensive irrigation systems, he says.<\/p>\n
Right now, Parker doesn\u2019t recommend that peach tree growers use biochar. For one thing, there hasn\u2019t been much research on biochar beyond the laboratory or greenhouse, he says. For another, the product is expensive, costing \u201csomewhere in the neighborhood of $400 a cubic yard and up,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Parker doesn\u2019t expect quick answers: His study is designed to be carried out over 10 years, in part to determine if biochar\u2019s effects are lasting.<\/p>\n
While Parker is focused on peach trees, he believes his findings will have implications for all sorts of specialty crops grown in sandy soils. He\u2019s cautiously optimistic but says he has no idea how his experiment will come out.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs scientists, we have a hypothesis — we usually have a pretty good idea of how our experiments will turn out. This is one that I have no idea how it’s going to turn out,\u201d Parker says. \u201cI’m excited, though, because of the potential it has.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"Biochar\u2019s been called black gold \u2013 a once-and-done fix to enhance nutrient-poor and droughty soils. But how do the claims hold up when applied to the soils of North Carolina\u2019s Sandhills?\r\n\r\nTo find out, NC State University horticultural science associate professor and Extension specialist Mike Parker has launched a new biochar research project at the Sandhills Research Station in Jackson Springs.\r\n\r\nAs Parker explains, biochar looks like ground-up charcoal: It is made from organic matter \u2013 such as wood chips, sawdust and rice hulls -- that\u2019s been heated to high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment. Among its touted benefits: higher crop yields, greater soil fertility and water-holding capacity, fewer tree replant issues, and even carbon sequestration that could mitigate climate change.\r\n\r\nParker wants to find out if Sandhills farmers could benefit from biochar made of pine residue, which is plentiful in the area. Earlier this year, he planted peach trees in four treatments \u2013 one where the soil hasn\u2019t been amended, and three where he applied biochar in different ways and in different rates. In one case, he applied the biochar to the surface of the soil, and in two others, he incorporated different amounts to a depth of one foot.\r\n\r\nAlthough using biochar for agriculture and gardening has recently gotten widespread attention, it\u2019s actually an ancient practice: Thousands of years ago, farmers in the Amazon basin used biochar to turn some of the worst soils into \u201cterra preta\u201d \u2013 or patches of black soil that remain fertile today.\r\n\r\nParker\u2019s project is funded in part by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services\u2019 Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. It has several objectives: to see if biochar affects the soil\u2019s nutrient holding capacity and content, if it increases the soil\u2019s water-holding capacity and if it alters nematode populations that contribute to a significant disorder known as peach tree short life. Parker will also be studying the impact on peach tree survival, productivity and profitability.\r\n\r\nNot only could the project yield economic benefits, it could also have environmental advantages, reducing runoff and leaching of fertilizers as well as minimizing the use of valuable water resources and expensive irrigation systems, he says.\r\n\r\nRight now, Parker doesn\u2019t recommend that peach tree growers use biochar. For one thing, there hasn\u2019t been much research on biochar beyond the laboratory or greenhouse, he says. For another, the product is expensive, costing \u201csomewhere in the neighborhood of $400 a cubic yard and up,\u201d he says.\r\n\r\nParker doesn\u2019t expect quick answers: His study is designed to be carried out over 10 years, in part to determine if biochar\u2019s effects are lasting.\r\n\r\nWhile Parker is focused on peach trees, he believes his findings will have implications for all sorts of specialty crops grown in sandy soils. He\u2019s cautiously optimistic but says he has no idea how his experiment will come out.\r\n\r\n\u201cAs scientists, we have a hypothesis -- we usually have a pretty good idea of how our experiments will turn out. This is one that I have no idea how it's going to turn out,\u201d Parker says. \u201cI'm excited, though, because of the potential it has.\u201d"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NC State Extension specialist launches a new research project to see if biochar in a field setting lives up to recent hype.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":157117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1170,1181,1163],"tags":[1862,216],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"coauthors":[1651],"class_list":["post-157115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-extension","category-newswire","category-research","tag-_from-newswire-collection-13","tag-department-of-horticultural-science"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157115"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157273,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157115\/revisions\/157273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157115"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=157115"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=157115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}