Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings
The recent adoption of biochar in Malaysia's oil palm industry offers numerous benefits, including soil enhancement, resource efficiency improvement, pollution remediation, and greenhouse gas mitigation. With approximately 66.15% of agricultural land dedicated to oil palm cultivation, a substan...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024
|
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113280/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113280/1/113280.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848866179637051392 |
|---|---|
| author | Tugiman, Erwan Syah Mohd Yusoff, Mohd Zulkhairi Hassan, Mohd Ali Abd Samad, Mohd Yusoff Ahmad Farid, Mohammed Abdillah Yoshihito, Shirai |
| author_facet | Tugiman, Erwan Syah Mohd Yusoff, Mohd Zulkhairi Hassan, Mohd Ali Abd Samad, Mohd Yusoff Ahmad Farid, Mohammed Abdillah Yoshihito, Shirai |
| author_sort | Tugiman, Erwan Syah |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The recent adoption of biochar in Malaysia's oil palm industry offers numerous benefits, including soil enhancement, resource efficiency improvement, pollution remediation, and greenhouse gas mitigation. With approximately 66.15% of agricultural land dedicated to oil palm cultivation, a substantial amount of biomass, mainly from empty fruit bunch (EFB) and mesocarp fibre (MF), is generated. This study focused on carbonizing MF and EFB at temperatures ranging from 580 to 695°C to produce biochar. The assessment of biochar's effectiveness as a planting medium in nurseries revealed significantly accelerated growth rates in seedlings cultivated in a composite of biochar and soil. At 8 months-after-treatment (MAT), the BMF-75 treatment showed remarkable growth enhancements, with the highest increase in height (64.9%), number of leaflets (60.5%), and girth size (55.3%) compared to the initial values at 3 MAT, indicating its effectiveness in promoting growth in oil palm seedlings. Additionally, compared to the control group, the biochar-mixed media resulted in favourable outcomes regarding the assimilation of both macro- and micro-nutrients. For instance, nitrogen uptake increased by 2.7% with BMF-50, magnesium by 25.2%, phosphorus by 24.1% with BEFB-75, calcium by 36.8% with BMF-75, chlorine by 10.5% with BMF-50, iron by 25.5% with BEFB-25, copper by 20.1% with BMF-25, and zinc by 6.3% with BMF-25. Additionally, biochar-treated soil exhibited higher organic carbon content, improved cation exchange capacity (CEC), enhanced nitrogen retention with greater biochar proportions, and likely improved soil fertility due to biochar’s porous structure. Further potential research can be explored to investigate its long-term effects on oil palm plantation. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:16:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-113280 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:16:29Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1132802025-06-11T05:39:39Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113280/ Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings Tugiman, Erwan Syah Mohd Yusoff, Mohd Zulkhairi Hassan, Mohd Ali Abd Samad, Mohd Yusoff Ahmad Farid, Mohammed Abdillah Yoshihito, Shirai The recent adoption of biochar in Malaysia's oil palm industry offers numerous benefits, including soil enhancement, resource efficiency improvement, pollution remediation, and greenhouse gas mitigation. With approximately 66.15% of agricultural land dedicated to oil palm cultivation, a substantial amount of biomass, mainly from empty fruit bunch (EFB) and mesocarp fibre (MF), is generated. This study focused on carbonizing MF and EFB at temperatures ranging from 580 to 695°C to produce biochar. The assessment of biochar's effectiveness as a planting medium in nurseries revealed significantly accelerated growth rates in seedlings cultivated in a composite of biochar and soil. At 8 months-after-treatment (MAT), the BMF-75 treatment showed remarkable growth enhancements, with the highest increase in height (64.9%), number of leaflets (60.5%), and girth size (55.3%) compared to the initial values at 3 MAT, indicating its effectiveness in promoting growth in oil palm seedlings. Additionally, compared to the control group, the biochar-mixed media resulted in favourable outcomes regarding the assimilation of both macro- and micro-nutrients. For instance, nitrogen uptake increased by 2.7% with BMF-50, magnesium by 25.2%, phosphorus by 24.1% with BEFB-75, calcium by 36.8% with BMF-75, chlorine by 10.5% with BMF-50, iron by 25.5% with BEFB-25, copper by 20.1% with BMF-25, and zinc by 6.3% with BMF-25. Additionally, biochar-treated soil exhibited higher organic carbon content, improved cation exchange capacity (CEC), enhanced nitrogen retention with greater biochar proportions, and likely improved soil fertility due to biochar’s porous structure. Further potential research can be explored to investigate its long-term effects on oil palm plantation. Elsevier 2024-06 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_nc_nd_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113280/1/113280.pdf Tugiman, Erwan Syah and Mohd Yusoff, Mohd Zulkhairi and Hassan, Mohd Ali and Abd Samad, Mohd Yusoff and Ahmad Farid, Mohammed Abdillah and Yoshihito, Shirai (2024) Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, 58. art. no. 103203. pp. 1-14. ISSN 1878-8181 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878818124001877 10.1016/j.bcab.2024.103203 |
| spellingShingle | Tugiman, Erwan Syah Mohd Yusoff, Mohd Zulkhairi Hassan, Mohd Ali Abd Samad, Mohd Yusoff Ahmad Farid, Mohammed Abdillah Yoshihito, Shirai Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings |
| title | Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings |
| title_full | Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings |
| title_short | Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings |
| title_sort | assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113280/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113280/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113280/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113280/1/113280.pdf |