• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.368-374
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: The urgency of feeding the world's growing population while combating soil pollution, salinization and desertification requires suitable biotechnology not only to improve crop productivity but also to improve soil health through interactions of soil nutrient and soil microorganism. Interest in the utilization of microbial fertilizer has increased. A principle of nature farming is to produce abundant and healthy crops without using chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and without interrupting the natural ecosystem. Beneficial microorganisms may provide supplemental nutrients in the soil, promote crop growth, and enhance plant resistance against pathogenic microorganisms. We mixed beneficial microorganisms such as Bacillus sp. Han-5 with anti-fungal activities, Trichoderma harziaum, Trichoderma longibrachiatum with organic material degrading activity, Actinomycetes bovis with antibiotic production and Pseudomonas sp. with nitrogen fixation. This study was carried out to investigate the mixtures on the soil microflora and soil chemical properties and the effect on the growth of lettuce and cucumber under greenhouse conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: The microbial mixtures were used with each of organic fertilizer, swine manure and organic+swine manure and compared in regard to changes in soil chemical properties, soil microflora properties and crop growth. At 50 days after the treatment of microorganism mixtures, the pH improved from 5.8 to 6.3, and the EC, $NO_3$-Na and K decreased by 52.4%, 60.5% and 29.3%, respectively. The available $P_2O_5$ and $SiO_2$ increased by 25.9% and 21.2%, respectively. Otherwise, the population density of fluorescent Pseudomonas sp. was accelerated and the growth of vegetables increased. Moreover, the population density of E. coli and Fusarium sp., decreased remarkably. The ratio of bacteria to fungi (B/F) and the ratio of Actinomycetes bovis to fungi (A/F) increased 2.3 (from 272.2 to 624.4) and 1.7 times (from 38.3 to 64), respectively. Furthermore, the growth and yield of cucumber and lettuce significantly increased by the treatment of microorganism mixtures. CONCLUSION(S): These results suggest that the treatment of microorganism mixtures improved the chemical properties and the microflora of soil and the crop growth. Therefore, it is concluded that the microorganism mixtures could be good alternative soil amendments to restore soil nutrients and soil microflora.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.610-613
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• 2012

Oyster shell has a high content of $CaCO_3$ to be used as a acidic soil amendment. To enhance productivity of barley and soil microbe in an upland soil, oyster shell and calcium-magnesium carbonate were selected as a soil amendments in this study. A field experiment was treated no treatment (hereafter, control), oyster shell lime $3.09Mg\;ha^{-1}$ and $2.38Mg\;ha^{-1}$, and calcium-magnesium carbonate $2.38Mg\;ha^{-1}$ as amount of lime requirement in silt loam soil. The yield of barley from the oyster shell lime treatment was the highest. The protein content of barley was the highest of 11.1% in the calcium-magnesium carbonate, followed by 10.7% for the control, 10.6% for the oyster shell lime $3.09Mg\;ha^{-1}$, and 10.4% for the oyster shell lime $2.38Mg\;ha^{-1}$. Soil pH value was higher than that of control in harvesting stage. In addition, the population of soil bacteria was highest in oyster shell lime $2.38Mg\;ha^{-1}$, actinomycetes was highest in calcium-magnesium $2.38Mg\;ha^{-1}$. We concluded that the oyster shell lime can be effective to restore soil nutrient and microbe balance in an upland soil.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.248-255
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• 2011

For the environmental friendly soil management on the cultivation of crops in the greenhouse, organic materials, such as the by product-fertilizer derived from livestock manure, rice straw, mushroom media, rice hulls, wood sawdust, and cocopeat, were used as carbon sources adjusting the ratio of carbon to nitrogen to 10, 20, and 30 based on the inorganic soil N. In each C/N ratio of greenhouse soil, watermelon was cultivated in the greenhouse as crop for experiment for the spring and summer of the year and the experimental results were summarized as follows. The concentration of T-C in the organic materials applied were between $289{\sim}429g\;kg^{-1}$, In the C/N ratio of 10, using watermelon as the crop cultivated during the second half of the year in the greenhouse soil, the $NO_3$-N and EC were reduced by 21 to 37%, and 26 to 33%, respectively, except the by product-fertilizer from livestock manure, compared to the soil $NO_3$-N and EC used in the experiment. After the watermelon was cultivated in soils that C/N ratios were controlled as 10, 20, and 30 with wood sawdust adding as carbon sources in the three soils with the different EC values, EC values of the soils were reduced by 33, 42, and 39%, respectively, compared to the soil EC used in the experiment. The weight of watermelon was 10.1-13.4 kg per one unit, and, of the three soils with different EC values. In the soils with three different EC values controlled at C/N ratio of 20, the weight of watermelon was good. The degree of sugar of watermelon were 11.8 to 12.3 Brix, which means that the difference between the treatments was not significant. In conclusion, the C/N ratio of 20 controlled by the proper supply of organic materials according to the representative EC values shown in the greenhouse soils was optimal condition enough to maintain the soil management for the organic culture with the proper nutrient cycling.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.43-51
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• 2006

Generally abandoned mine soils have serious problems for introducing vegetation such as nutrient deficiency, poor physical properties, and phytotoxicity due to high levels of heavy metals. It is required to improve soil amenity for revegetation. One of its strategies is using organic materials such as compost manure and sludge. The pot experiments was conducted to evaluate the effects of pig manure and municipal sewage sludge on revegetation of mining area soil surface with Artemisia princeps and Zoysia japonica. Application rate of pig manure and municipal sewage sludge was $75{\sim}225$ Mg/ha and $150{\sim}450$ Mg/ha, respectively. The results showed that the application of manure and sludge increased organic matter about two-fold and total nitrogen contents about five-fold of mine soil and improved the growth of plants in all treatments compared to the control. The result of plant tissue analysis showed that both plants accumulate Cd, Cu and Zn in root tissue rather than shoot tissues. Increased sludge application reduced Zn accumulation in both plant tissue. Sequential extraction results indicated that addition of soil amendment induced increment of organically bound fractions of Cu and Zn. Organically bound fraction of Zn was significantly increased from 7.84% to 13.58% in Artemisia princeps planted soil and from 7.84% to 14.16% in Zoysia japonica planted soil, thereby bioavailability of heavy metals was reduced. The results suggested that application of organic materials to mine soil can reduce phytotoxicity of heavy metals and be helpful in introducing successful revegetation.