Korean Journal of Agricultural Science ISSN:2466-2402(Print) 2466-2410(Online) 농업과학연구

Biochar is a solid carbon material made by pyrolyzing a biomass under limited oxygen conditions. Biochar has been reported to confer various benefits, such as increased soil productivity, pollutant absorption, and reduced greenhouse gas. In this study, oak pyrolyzed at 600℃ for 3 hours was either powdered or pelleted. Each of the biochar types was added to the soil at a rate of 2%. The control did not receive any biochar while a combination of the biochar and NPK treatment (biochar 2% + NPK) was also included. The cherry tomatoes were grown in greenhouse pots for 50 days to compare the growth characteristics of the different treatments. The cherry tomato with the powdered biochar 2% + NPK treatment had the heaviest plant fresh shoot weight of 276.4 g and the highest chlorophyll content of 59.3 SPAD. The control had the lightest plant fresh shoot weight of 44.2 g and a chlorophyll content of 26.5 SPAD. Both forms of biochar affected the chemical properties of the soil, increased the pH, electrical conductivity, available phosphate, total carbon and total nitrogen and positively influenced the cherry tomato growth and productivity. From the above results, therefore, both biochar forms are suited for use as soil amendments.