CHARACTERIZATION OF BIOCHAR PREPARED FROM DIFFERENT PLANT WASTES AND EVALUATION OF BIOCHAR WITH FERTILIZER ON FODDER MAIZE

of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari during kharif season of year 2023-24.The pot experiment was conducted on fodder maize by integrating the biochar prepared from residue of coconut leaves, brinjal plant and pigeon pea plant with chemical fertilizers in different proportions.The experimental soil had neutral pH, normal EC, high OC, low available N, medium available P 2 O 5 , high available K 2 O and soil of the experiment was clayey.The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with eight treatments of different doses of coconut leaves biochar, pigeon pea residue biochar and brinjal residue biochar.Maximum biochar yield was obtained from brinjal residue followed by coconut leaves and pigeon pea residue.The recommended dose of fertilizer (80 N: 30 P 2 O 5 kg/ha) were commonly applied for all treatments except absolute control.The results revealed that application of treatment 1.0 t ha -1 coconut leaves biochar with 100 % RDF demonstrated superior in growth and yield attributes viz., plant height, green and dry fodder yield also in nutrient content and uptake by fodder maize.No significant differences were observed in soil pH of post-harvest soil but in other soil physico-chemical properties, available nutrients and micronutrients significantly increased due to application of 1.0 t ha -1 coconut leaves biochar with 100 % RDF after harvest of maize.