Evaluation of Cotton Stalk Biochar Use Efficiency on Cotton Yield in Zambia

Growing cotton in acidic soils under drought conditions is a critical issue for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Arid Regions. The Biochar is a soil amendment to enhance soil properties like; water-holding capacity and as a source of nutritional elements. Therefore, the prime focus is improving soil health without decreasing yield productivity from a unit area in a sustainable manner. The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of Biochar application on the cotton yield of the commercial variety CDT V in comparison with other fertilizers such as manure and synthetic fertilizers under combined acidity, high temperature and drought stresses in Magoye, Zambia during the two growing seasons of 2021/22 and 2022/23. The results indicated that the acidic soils under drought stress had a negative effect on cotton productivity. The analysis of variance showed highly significant differences for treatment, years and their interaction for plant height and cotton yield. The observed results showed that the highest seed cotton yield and lint was 1888.92 and 868.90 kg/ha obtained from Biochar plus synthetic fertilizer treatment followed by Biochar plus manure produced 1691.85 and 778.25 kg/ha for seed cotton and lint yield, respectively. The highest partial fertilizer productivity decreased with increasing fertilizer dose. Also, the Principle Componet Analysis ( PCA ) showed acute angle between variables with long arms, which indicated highly significant positive correlation between five traits. Generally, Biochar combined with synthetic fertilizers could improve soil fertility leading to increased cotton productivity in arid and semi-arid regions.