Short-Term Impacts of Pecan Waste By-Products on Soil Quality in Texturally Different Arid Soils |
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| Authors: | Omololu John Idowu Soumaila Sanogo Catherine Elizabeth Brewer |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Extension Plant Sciences/Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA;2. Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA;3. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA |
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| Abstract: | Three arid soils (clay loam (CL), sandy clay (SC), and sandy loam (SL)) were amended with pecan waste products (ground pecan shells (PSHs), ground pecan husks (PHUs), and ground pecan shell biochar (PSB)), at a rate of 45 Mg/ha, packed inside cylindrical rings and kept in a humid chamber for 4 weeks. Measurements taken included volumetric moisture content as the soil dried out for 7 days, wet aggregate stability (WAS), permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), nitrate-nitrogen, extractable phosphorus (Olsen-P), and water-extractable potassium (K). Significant effects of soil texture, soil amendment, and their interaction were observed for all measurements. Generally, the amendments led to significant improvement in Olsen-P, K, POXC, and WAS, while amendments’ impacts on soils of different textures varied. Short-term moisture retention was dependent on soil texture, with PHU and PSB treatments having higher soil moisture retention in SL and CL soils but not in SC soil. |
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| Keywords: | Biochar pecan husk pecan waste pecan shell soil quality soil texture |
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