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Effect of Biochar Application on Early Germination Rate of Water Melon Seeds

Received: 14 August 2023    Accepted: 6 September 2023    Published: 8 January 2024
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Abstract

The effect of applying biochar produced at three temperatures (450-550°C) on the growth rate of watermelon seedlings is examined in this study. According to the proximate analysis, the fixed carbon content of groundnut shell biochar increases between 69.41 and 75.78% as the temperature rises. While the yield decreased as the temperature increased, the highest yield (49.61%) was achieved at 400°C. The pH of all the biochar produced in this study rises with temperature, reaching a maximum of 9.07 at 550°C, and is all alkaline. The groundnut shell biochar's (GSB) Zeta potential at 450°C and 500°C, respectively, was -16.3 mV and -8.38 mV at a pH range of 8–9. Alkanes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and aromatic compounds make up the majority of the functional groups found in the biochar and biomass samples. The growth rate of the watermelon seedlings was observed to be positively impacted by all the biochar samples at various temperatures. However, biochar produced at 400°C (GSB400) led to the best seedling growth. Due to the formation of aromatic carbon, which becomes recalcitrant and resistant to biological degradation, biochar produced at higher temperatures improved seedling growth but not to the same extent as that produced at lower temperatures (400°C). Negative charges were present on the surface of the biochar, which may aid in the protection of plants and soil improvement. According to Duncan's statistical analysis, GB400 significantly outperformed GB450, GB500, and GB550 (1.000), while there was a significant difference between the control and all of the biochar.

Published in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12
Page(s) 7-16
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Groundnut Shell Biomass, Biochar, Seedling Growth, Watermelon, Soil Improvement

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Juliet, O. I., Oziri, U. P., Lawrence, O. N., Nwachukwu, E. (2024). Effect of Biochar Application on Early Germination Rate of Water Melon Seeds. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 9(1), 7-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12

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    ACS Style

    Juliet, O. I.; Oziri, U. P.; Lawrence, O. N.; Nwachukwu, E. Effect of Biochar Application on Early Germination Rate of Water Melon Seeds. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 2024, 9(1), 7-16. doi: 10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12

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    AMA Style

    Juliet OI, Oziri UP, Lawrence ON, Nwachukwu E. Effect of Biochar Application on Early Germination Rate of Water Melon Seeds. Biochem Mol Biol. 2024;9(1):7-16. doi: 10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12,
      author = {Opara Ifeoma Juliet and Ukoha Pius Oziri and Obasi Nnamdi Lawrence and Ekere Nwachukwu},
      title = {Effect of Biochar Application on Early Germination Rate of Water Melon Seeds},
      journal = {Biochemistry and Molecular Biology},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {7-16},
      doi = {10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.bmb.20240901.12},
      abstract = {The effect of applying biochar produced at three temperatures (450-550°C) on the growth rate of watermelon seedlings is examined in this study. According to the proximate analysis, the fixed carbon content of groundnut shell biochar increases between 69.41 and 75.78% as the temperature rises. While the yield decreased as the temperature increased, the highest yield (49.61%) was achieved at 400°C. The pH of all the biochar produced in this study rises with temperature, reaching a maximum of 9.07 at 550°C, and is all alkaline. The groundnut shell biochar's (GSB) Zeta potential at 450°C and 500°C, respectively, was -16.3 mV and -8.38 mV at a pH range of 8–9. Alkanes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and aromatic compounds make up the majority of the functional groups found in the biochar and biomass samples. The growth rate of the watermelon seedlings was observed to be positively impacted by all the biochar samples at various temperatures. However, biochar produced at 400°C (GSB400) led to the best seedling growth. Due to the formation of aromatic carbon, which becomes recalcitrant and resistant to biological degradation, biochar produced at higher temperatures improved seedling growth but not to the same extent as that produced at lower temperatures (400°C). Negative charges were present on the surface of the biochar, which may aid in the protection of plants and soil improvement. According to Duncan's statistical analysis, GB400 significantly outperformed GB450, GB500, and GB550 (1.000), while there was a significant difference between the control and all of the biochar.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Effect of Biochar Application on Early Germination Rate of Water Melon Seeds
    AU  - Opara Ifeoma Juliet
    AU  - Ukoha Pius Oziri
    AU  - Obasi Nnamdi Lawrence
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5048
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.bmb.20240901.12
    AB  - The effect of applying biochar produced at three temperatures (450-550°C) on the growth rate of watermelon seedlings is examined in this study. According to the proximate analysis, the fixed carbon content of groundnut shell biochar increases between 69.41 and 75.78% as the temperature rises. While the yield decreased as the temperature increased, the highest yield (49.61%) was achieved at 400°C. The pH of all the biochar produced in this study rises with temperature, reaching a maximum of 9.07 at 550°C, and is all alkaline. The groundnut shell biochar's (GSB) Zeta potential at 450°C and 500°C, respectively, was -16.3 mV and -8.38 mV at a pH range of 8–9. Alkanes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and aromatic compounds make up the majority of the functional groups found in the biochar and biomass samples. The growth rate of the watermelon seedlings was observed to be positively impacted by all the biochar samples at various temperatures. However, biochar produced at 400°C (GSB400) led to the best seedling growth. Due to the formation of aromatic carbon, which becomes recalcitrant and resistant to biological degradation, biochar produced at higher temperatures improved seedling growth but not to the same extent as that produced at lower temperatures (400°C). Negative charges were present on the surface of the biochar, which may aid in the protection of plants and soil improvement. According to Duncan's statistical analysis, GB400 significantly outperformed GB450, GB500, and GB550 (1.000), while there was a significant difference between the control and all of the biochar.
    
    VL  - 9
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Author Information
  • Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Federal University, Wukari, Taraba, Nigeria

  • Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

  • Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

  • Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

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