Barry Husk, president, BlueLeaf, commented: “The results seen so far in this project are an indication of the benefits of using biochar in agriculture. They illustrate the potential for biochar to improve crop yields, as well as soil and water quality.”
Tom Bouchard, Dynamotive chief operating officer added, “We are grateful to Barry and the team at BlueLeaf for providing the technical and practical expertise needed to complete this study. It’s a valuable step towards building a comprehensive understanding of how biochar and specifically CQuest can make a positive difference to not only agriculture but the environment as well.”
Brief Overview of Study:
CQuest Biochar was supplied from Dynamotive’s West Lorne Facility and applied on May 28, 2008 to a test plot on a farm in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, Canada. Third party participants included, Aime Rivard. Both companies would like to thank him for his cooperation and support. In total, 3,500 lbs /acre (3,924 kg/hectare) of biochar was applied to the test plot.
Key findings of the study comparing biochar vs. control plots:
Overall higher crop yield with biochar (+6% to +17%);
Longer root length with biochar (+68%);
Lower plant leaf temperatures with biochar (-22%);
Lower soil nutrient depletion rate during growing season with biochar, e.g. phosphorus (-44%).
DynaMotive is a Canada-based developer of technology for biomass-to-liquid fuel conversion using a process called Fast Pyrolysis.
BlueLeaf is a Canada-based private social purpose enterprise active in applied research concerning the environment.
