IHSS&IWA26 / BRNO / CZECHIA / 23–28 August 2026 BOOK OF ABSTRACTS 168 Travel Awardee Presentations Friday, 28 August 2026 / Hall C Number of leaves, Length of primary vine and leaf greenness were determined at weeks 7 and 9; resh shoot yields at weeks 10 and 13 and fruit yield at harvest were determined. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance using SAS and treatment means were separated with Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at 0.05 probability level. Results and Discussion The results showed that Na-based biochar fertilizers sources (IFBiNa and IFOFBiNa) had positive effects on all soil chemical, soil fauna and plant’s yield parameters. The soil Collembola increased by 156.5% and 120.3% respectively with treatments IFBiNa and IFOFBiNa while Lumbricidae had 926% and 900% increase respectively over the control. However, Diptera abundance was dominant in IFBiNa and IFBi with 478% and 417% increase while the Isoptera higher in IFOFBiNa and IFBiNa with 460.9% and 417.4% increase respectively relative to the control. The residual effects followed the pattern of the main effect. Soils that received biochar and/ or Na recorded significantly higher fauna abundance due to organic matter addition and nutrient supply effects of biochar. Soil fauna activities in return, enable organic material mineralization, cycling and redistribution of nutrient minerals within the soil. Figure 1: Effect of the fertilizer type on fauna abundance Figure 2: Effect of the fertilizer type on soil pH and organic matter
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