GROUNDNUT RESPONSE TO BIOCHAR

India is the second largest producer of groundnut in the world. Biochar application to soil have beneficial effect on crop productivity through increased nutrient use efficiency, increased water holding capacity and decreased bulk density. It is well known that the quantity, quality and distribution of soil amendments affect the structure of the soil. If the biochar become widely used for soil improvement tool, it will involve globally significant amounts of carbon sequestration helping remediate global warming.A field experiment was carried out during summer season of 2019 on calcareous clayey soil at Junagadh, Gujarat, India.The results indicated that application of microbial enriched biochar 0.25 t/ha along with vermicompost 1 t/ha or FYM 1.25 t/ha with vermicompost 0.5 t/ha enhanced growth, yield and quality with higher net return and improved physico-chemical and biological properties of calcareous clayey soil.