Abstract:
Objective This study investigated the effect of biochar application on rhizosphere phosphorus (P) dynamics, P uptake, and transport of soybean at different growth stages in lateritic red soil.
Method A pot experiment was conducted with four treatments including CK (control), P (addition of 13 mg kg−1 P), BC (addition of 4% rice straw biochar), and BP (addition of 13 mg kg−1 P and 4% rice stalk biochar). Using methods such as sequential P fractionation, soil enzymology and real-time quantitative PCR to explore the effects of biochar combined with low P fertilizer on P fraction, phosphatase activity and microbial biomass P, plant P uptake and P transport gene expression at soybean seeding stage, podding stage and harvesting stage.
Result Compared with CK and P treatments, BC and BP treatments significantly increased soil pH, salt base saturation, Bray-P, inorganic P, organic P and residual P at the seeding stage, podding stage and harvesting stage. They also increased inorganic P proportion while reducing organic P and residual P proportion and the expression of soybean P transporter genes, resulting in promoted soybean P uptake. The alkaline phosphatase activity and microbial biomass P content of BC and BP treatments reached the highest peak at the podding stage. Compared with the non-biochar addition treatments (CK and P), biochar addition (BC and BP) increased alkaline phosphatase activities by 43%, 67% and 48% at the seeding, podding and harvesting stages, respectively. Compared with CK, the microbial biomass P content in the BC treatment increased by 50%, 83% and 43% at the seeding, podding and harvesting stages, respectively. Similarly, the BP treatment showed increases of 69%, 76% and 77% in microbial biomass P content at the seedling, podding and harvesting stages compared to CK.
Conclusion Biochar application, either alone or combined with low P fertilizer, significantly increased soil P availability and soybean P uptake in latosolic red soil. This effect was associated with increased alkaline phosphatase activity and microbial biomass P, with the greatest enhancement observed during the soybean podding stage, indicating a notable promotion of enzymatic organic P mineralization at the soybean podding stage.