A trial conducted at the National Technology Center for the Agricultural Auxiliary Industry, TECNOVA Foundation, has demonstrated that tomatoes harvested in greenhouses improve and increase their production after being treated with an organic biochar soil amendment. The biochar used in the research is produced by Carboliva using olive pulp.
The study was carried out in a greenhouse in Almería over 157 days. Specifically, the parameters of four groups of 5 plants under identical conditions were analyzed: the first had no type of amendment, the second was treated only with manure, the third only with biochar, the fourth with 80% manure and 20% biochar, and the fifth with 60% manure and 40% biochar.
During the trial, which was carried out by TECNOVA technicians, the following characterizations were performed: climate data inside the greenhouse, crop growth, crop yield, nitrate concentration in the soil solution, physicochemical composition of the soil, nutritional status of the crop, and physicochemical characteristics of the fruits.
The main conclusions reached are that most of the parameters analyzed were better in plants treated with biochar compared to those that had no organic amendments or those that were only fertilized with manure. Notable, for example, is the 18% increase in yield per square meter in the weight of tomatoes from the fifth treatment (60% manure and 40% biochar) and a 17% increase in those treated solely with biochar. Similarly, the third group, treated only with biochar, produced a higher number of fruits. The fifth group also stood out for a higher proportion of tomato fruits and a higher weight. Regarding soil health, all indicators are better in plants that received the biochar amendment: lower concentrations of nitrates, salts, sodium, cations, and anions in the soil solution. Furthermore, they showed significant improvements in moisture retention, which was especially enhanced in treatments combining biochar and manure.
Alvaro Espuny, CEO of Carboliva, highlights that this scientific study confirms the benefits of biochar for agriculture due to its ability to improve soil health and plant nutrition, as well as increase moisture retention. “Following the Soil O-Live project research, which showed that olive trees treated with biochar increase their production by between 7% and 24%, we now see that other crops such as tomatoes, so prevalent in greenhouses in Almería or Murcia, can also benefit from the advantages of biochar,” Espuny points out. Finally, he notes that biochar, in addition to providing higher yields for plants, sequesters carbon, making it a great ally for the environment.
Carboliva is the only Spanish company that produces Biochar from olive grove biomass, pits, and pulp; therefore, it not only utilizes olive grove by-products but also provides numerous benefits to agriculture and, as previously mentioned, helps the environment.