EFFECTS OF BIOCHAR PARTICLE SIZE ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL AND MAIZE (Zea mays L.) PERFORMANCE

Reducing particle size is an easily adoptable strategy to reduce loss of nutrients due to more adsorption with correspondingly increased surface area compared to areas without biochar or soil treated with larger biochar particle sizes. Field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of biochar particle size on the physico-chemical properties of soil, growth and yield of maize. The treatments were biochar particle size of 5.3mm, 2mm, 1mm, 0.5mm and control. Soil samples were collected for the determination of physicochemical properties of the soil before and after sowing. Data were also collected on growth and yield parameters and were analysed using Gen-stat. The results showed that biochar particle size of 0.5mm had the highest value in plant height (121.11cm), plant girth (2.177cm), number of leaves(14.80), leaf area (784.70cm2) and yield parameters (cob length, cob girth, seed weight per cob and yield with values of 10.883cm, 3.640cm, 117.90g and 7094.17kg/ha respectively).Also, biochar particle size of 0.5mmhad the best in the physico-chemical properties in organic carbon (1.80), organic matter (3.10),Nitrogen (0.21), pH (6.7), CEC (4.81) and had the least value in EA (0.50) of the soil as compare to other treatments with the control having the least value of 1.72, 2.96, 0.12,6.3, 4.35 for O.C, OM, N, pH, CEC and the highest for EA(0.83). It can be concluded that biochar particle size of 0.5mm performed best with the highest improvement in the physicochemical properties of the soil, growth and yield parameters of maize.