Impact of Biocharamendment on Soil Ph of Orthic Luvisol at the Research Site Located Inwestern Slovakia

One year field experiment of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was carried out to evaluate the effect of biochar amendment on the pH of Orthic Luvisol at the research site located in western Slovakia (lat. 48°19´00´´; lon. 18°09´00´´). Biochar with higher pH (8.8) was applied to the slightly acidic soils with the initial pH at 5.6. The field experiment consisted of control, 10 and 20 tha-1 of biochar application to soils where all treatments were equally fertilized with 80 kg N ha-1. The soil pH (KCl) at depth 0-10 cm was measured once a month (March-October, 2014). Amendment of 10 tha-1 biochar increased pH (in all months) by 0.49-0.67 but the difference wasn't significant (P < 0.05) compared to control plots. Higher application rate of biochar (20 tha-1) increased pH (in all months) by 0.62-1.09 with the significant difference in 5 of 8 measurements events compared to control.