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Article

Co-Composting of Hop Bines and Wood-Based Biochar: Effects on Composting and Plant Growth in Copper-Contaminated Soils

1
Institute of Horticulture, Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, Am Staudengarten 14, 85354 Freising, Germany
2
Chair of Organic Agriculture and Agronomy, Technical University of Munich, Liesel-Beckmann-Straße 3, 85354 Freising, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 3065; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123065
Submission received: 28 November 2023 / Revised: 7 December 2023 / Accepted: 13 December 2023 / Published: 15 December 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remediation of Heavy Metal/Organic Pollutant Contaminated Farmland)

Abstract

Decades of intensive use of copper-based fungicides against downy mildew in hops has led to considerable accumulation of copper in topsoil, resulting in toxic effects on plants. Due to its high sorption capacity, the application of co-composted biochar compost might reduce copper toxicity, whereby a synergistic effect of the composting process is supposed to occur. Furthermore, biochar addition might improve the composting process itself. Therefore, hop bines were co-composted without as well as with 5 and 20 vol% biochar, respectively. During composting, the temperature and concentration of O2, CO2, H2S, CH4 and NH3 in the compost heaps were regularly recorded. The biochar-free compost as well as the two composts with the biochar addition were characterized with regard to their plant-growing properties and were mixed into soils artificially spiked with different amounts of copper as well as into copper-polluted hop garden and apple orchard soils. The respective soil without the compost addition was used as the control, and further treatments with biochar alone and in combination with biochar-free compost were included in a plant response test with Chinese cabbage. The biochar addition increased the temperature within the compost heaps by about 30 °C and extended the duration of the thermophilic phase by almost 30 days, resulting in a higher degree of hygienization. Furthermore, the application of co-composted biochar composts significantly improved plant biomass by up to 148% and reduced the copper concentration, especially of roots, by up to 35%. However, no significant differences in the biochar-free compost were found in the artificially copper-spiked soils, and the effect of co-composted biochar compost did not differ from the effect of biochar alone and in combination with biochar-free compost. Nevertheless, the co-composting of hop bines with biochar is recommended to benefit from the positive side effect of improved sanitization in addition to reducing copper toxicity.
Keywords: phytotoxicity; immobilization; bioavailability; remediation; plant response test; composting process phytotoxicity; immobilization; bioavailability; remediation; plant response test; composting process

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MDPI and ACS Style

Görl, J.; Lohr, D.; Meinken, E.; Hülsbergen, K.-J. Co-Composting of Hop Bines and Wood-Based Biochar: Effects on Composting and Plant Growth in Copper-Contaminated Soils. Agronomy 2023, 13, 3065. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123065

AMA Style

Görl J, Lohr D, Meinken E, Hülsbergen K-J. Co-Composting of Hop Bines and Wood-Based Biochar: Effects on Composting and Plant Growth in Copper-Contaminated Soils. Agronomy. 2023; 13(12):3065. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123065

Chicago/Turabian Style

Görl, Johannes, Dieter Lohr, Elke Meinken, and Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen. 2023. "Co-Composting of Hop Bines and Wood-Based Biochar: Effects on Composting and Plant Growth in Copper-Contaminated Soils" Agronomy 13, no. 12: 3065. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123065

APA Style

Görl, J., Lohr, D., Meinken, E., & Hülsbergen, K.-J. (2023). Co-Composting of Hop Bines and Wood-Based Biochar: Effects on Composting and Plant Growth in Copper-Contaminated Soils. Agronomy, 13(12), 3065. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123065

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