Arid and semi-arid soils are low in organic matter and have poor fertility, making them a serious threat to crop production. Most organic amendments, such as crop residues and farmyard manure, are short lived because of rapid decomposition. Incubation and pot studies were conducted to assess the impact of wheat straw biochar (produced at 350 °C) on temporal changes in soil microbial biomass and fertility status and to evaluate the efficacy of biochar for maize production in the top layer of Typic calciargid. The incubation study compared four levels of biochar (control, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0% on a w/w basis of soil) and two fertilizer rates, i.e., unfertilized (no NPK fertilizer) and fertilized (nitrogen, P₂O₅ and K₂O with rates of 125, 80 and 52.5 mg kg⁻¹ soil, respectively). After incubation, the 2.0% biochar significantly improved the soil cation exchange capacity, organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon by up to 35, 59 and 26%, respectively, while decreasing the soil pH by up to 1.5% compared to that of the control treatment. When fertilized, the 2.0% biochar improved the soil’s available phosphorous, extractable potassium and total nitrogen by up to 59, 39 and 28%, respectively, compared to those of the control. The results from the pot experiment showed that using the 1% biochar with fertilizer significantly increased the maize dry biomass and grain yield by up to 57 and 72%, respectively, compared to those of the control. Additionally, the nitrogen and phosphorus recoveries from the mineral fertilizers improved significantly (up to 26 and 38%, respectively) when using the 1.0% biochar compared to those of the control. Conclusively, the addition of 1.0% biochar significantly improved maize growth and yield by enhancing nutrient recovery from mineral fertilizer and improving soil properties.