Publications by authors named "Emmanuel Abban-Baidoo"
Article Synopsis
- - This study explored how adding corn cob biochar (CCB) and rice husk biochar (RHB) at different levels affects nitrogen and carbon dynamics during the composting of chicken litter, rice straw, and household waste.
- - The results revealed that biochar addition lowered ammonia and nitrate levels while boosting beneficial bacteria and fungi populations, resulting in nutrient-rich co-composts with higher pH and mineral content compared to those without biochar.
- - The composts containing biochar showed minimal to no harm to the germination of crops like amaranth, cucumber, and cowpea, indicating they are safe and effective soil amendments for enhancing crop growth.
Soil fertility decline is a major constraint to crop production in sub-Saharan Africa. The positive effect of biochar and compost applications on soil fertility has been reported by many authors. In this study, a 30-day laboratory incubation experiment was done using 120 g samples each of a Haplic acrisol amended with corn cob biochar (cbio), rice husk biochar (rbio), coconut husk biochar (coco300 and coco700) or poultry manure compost (compost); and co- composted rice husk biochar (rcocomp) or co-composted corn cob biochar (cococomp) at rates of 1 % w/w amendment: soil, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe preparation and application of biochar by smallholder farmers is labour intensive hence an effective one-time application for multiple cropping seasons would be desirable by farmers and researchers. In this study, one-time biochar application as a soil amendment and its interaction with compost and NPK on yield performances of different crops was investigated across three cropping seasons. Treatments included biochar applied alone or together with compost, inorganic NPK fertilizer or both.
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