Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

3 MS Student, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

10.22092/ijrdr.2025.134292

Abstract

The effect of oak biochar on some functional characteristics, soil fertility and essential oil yield of the medicinal plant Achillea millefolium L.
Background: Several studies have shown the significant effect of biochar on improving the biological and functional characteristics of plants. In the present study, the effects of oak biochar on some functional characteristics and efficiency of A.millefolium essential oil and physicochemical properties of soil was investigated.
 
Materials and Methods: To conduct the study Oak biochar made during pyrolysis at temperatures of 300 and 500 (B300 and B500, respectively) degrees Celsius was also used in the treatment groups. Soil was divided into 45 pots, including 15 control pots, 15 pots with 300 degrees Celsius (B300) oak biochar, and 15 pots with 500 degrees Celsius (B500) biochar. The ratio of biochar to soil in this experiment was the same for both treatments and was considered equal to 5%. After the plant grew and reached the flowering stage, the values ​​of total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, dry weight of aboveground biomass, dry weight of root biomass and percentage of essential oil were measured in different control and treatment groups. Also, the properties of soil pH, soil EC, organic carbon and total soil nitrogen were measured in the treatments. In order to compare different soil and plant parameters among the treatments, one-way analysis of variance test was used.
 
Results: The results showed that the addition of biochar significantly increased chlorophyll a (by 19%), total chlorophyll (by 17%), essential oil yield (by 36%), dry weight of aboveground biomass (by 25%), and dry weight of underground parts (by 87%) in the treatment groups compared to the control. Also, the addition of biochar significantly increased organic carbon (by 88%) and soil nitrogen (by 27%) in the biochar treatment groups compared to the control. No significant differences were observed between the B300 and B500 treatments in any of the plant and soil parameters.
 
Conclusion: According to the results obtained from this study, the use of biochar is recommended as a suitable method for increasing the yield and production of essential oil, as well as improving the chemical quality and yield of soil. The results of the present study show that the process of producing oak biochar at a temperature of 300 degrees Celsius is effective in improving the yield of A. millefolium and increasing the efficiency of essential oil, and there is no need to increase the temperature to more than 300 degrees Celsius to produce biochar.

Keywords

Refernces
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