EFECT OF SAWDUST BIOCHAR ON UPTAKE OF CHROMIUM (CR) BY SPINACH (AMARATU SP)

ABSTRACT Biochar is considered beneficial for plant growth and soil properties under saline condition. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of acidic biochar on physiological and growth parameters, as well as nutrient concentration of spinach. Five treatments were arranged; Control (CK) without biochar and salt application, Wood Biochar (WB), WBO, WBI, WB2 and WB3 with 0, 15, 30 and 45 g kg biochar, respectively, + 1% salt. Physioiogical characteristics and growth parameters and total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) were determined on 48 and 50 days after sowing respectively. The results showed that the number of leaves, plant height and fresh and dry weights decreased by 58.1, 53.1 and 82.7 and 81.3%, respectively, in WB3 compared to CK. Physiological characteristicsof spinach plants were negatively affected by addition of biochar. TN in spinach was lower in WB3 than CK. In contrast, TP uptake was enhanced by 93.8% in WB3 compared to CK. Moreover., biochar addition decreased soil pH and increased soil electrical conductivity (EC), TP and TN increased by 317.4 and 34.5%, respectively in biochar treated soil. We conclude that further studies should be conducted to evaluate the effect of acidic biochar on other crops and soil poperties.