agronomy Article Optimisation of Charcoal and Sago (Metroxylon sagu) Bark Ash to Improve Phosphorus Availability in Acidic Soils Prisca Divra Johan 1, Osumanu Haruna Ahmed 1,2,3,*, Ali Maru 4, Latifah Omar 1,2 and Nur Aainaa Hasbullah 5 1 Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu 97008, Malaysia;
[email protected] (P.D.J.);
[email protected] (L.O.) 2 Institute Ekosains Borneo (IEB), Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu 97008, Malaysia 3 Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (ITAFoS), Seri Kembangan 43000, Malaysia 4 School of Agriculture, SIREC, CBAS, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra 23321, Ghana;
[email protected] 5 Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Sandakan Campus, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan 90509, Malaysia;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +60-19-3695095 Abstract: Soil acidity is an important soil factor affecting crop growth and development. This ultimately limits crop productivity and the profitability of farmers. Soil acidity increases the toxicity of Al, Fe, H, and Mn. The abundance of Al and Fe ions in weathered soils has been implicated in P fixation. To date, limited research has attempted to unravel the use of charcoal with the incorporation of sago (Metroxylon sagu) bark ash to reduce P fixation. Therefore, an incubation study was conducted in the Soil Science Laboratory of Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Malaysia for 90 days to determine the optimum amounts of charcoal and sago bark ash that could be used to improve the P availability of a mineral acidic soil.