• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1035-1041
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• 2011

Salinity of soil under the plastic film houses in Korea is known as a significant factor to lower the crop production and to hamper the sustainable agricultural land management. In this study we propose a field monitoring technique to examine the methods applied to minimize the adverse effect of salts in soil based on the relationship between soil electrical characteristics and soil properties. Field experiments for 4 different treatments (water only, fertilizer only, DTPA only, and DTPA and fertilizer together) were conducted on soils at the plastic film house built for cultivating a cucumber plant located at Chunan-si, Chungchungnam-do in Korea. The electrical resistivity was measured by both a dipole-dipole and wenner multi-electrodes array method. After the electrical resistivity measurement we also measured the soil water content, temperature, and electrical conductivity on surface soil. The resulted image of the interpreted resistivity by the inversion technique presented a unique spatial distribution depending on the treatment, implying the effect of the different chemical components. It was also highly suspected that resistivity response changed with the nutrients level, suggesting that our proposed technique could be the effective tool for the monitoring soil water as well as nutrient during the cropping period. Especially, subsoils under DTPA treatment at 40 to 60 cm depth typically presented lower soil water accumulation comparing to subsoils under non-DTPA treatment. It is considered that DTPA resulted in increase of a root water uptake. However, our demonstrated results were mainly based on qualitative comparison. Further experiments need to be conducted to monitor temporal changes of electrical resistivity using time lapse analysis, providing that a plant root activity difference based on changes of soil water and nutrients level in time.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.282-286
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• 2010

The present studies were carried out for three years from 2007 until 2009 to control nematode and to increase yield of cucumber by crashed-rape seed application at polyethylene film house. Crashed-rape seed has a lot of glucosinolate. Myrosinase decompose gulcosinolate into isothiocyanate and thiocyanate when crashedrape seed go to decay at soil. Those chemical compounds act on poison to nematode at soil. When the crashedrape seed treated at soil, an amount of thiocyanate at soil was risen up. Thiocyanate of plot treated with 200 and 400 kg crashed-rape seed per 10a was 30 and 40 mg/kg, respectively. Nematode(meloidogyne spp) population at soil was 13 to 17 nematodes per dried soil 300g. Yield of cucumber increased 6 to 15 percent to be compared with control. While, Nematode(meloidogyne spp) population of control plot were 463 nematodes per dried soil 300 g. This level was much higher than 150 nematodes which can be brought about injury to plant. Even if the more an amount of crashed-rape seed application, the higher yield of cucumber and control effect of nematode. Consider economical efficiency, 200 kg of crashed-rape seed per 10a was the most effective. Therefore, we suggest applying 200 kg of crashed-rape seed per 10a to control soil nematode when culture cucumber at plastic film house.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.163-170
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• 2008

This experiment was conducted to determine the development of mixed organic fertilizer using photosynthetic bacteria and mass production of mixed microbial compound for the environment-friendly agriculture. Photosynthetic bacteria, Rhodobacter sp. SA16 was isolated from soil collected by plastic film house. The SA16 strain was identified based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis and it is closely related to Rhodobacter sp.(100% similarity). The mixed organic fertilizer using SA16 was made of $N-P_2O_5-K_2O=60-10-20\;g\;kg^{-1}$ with combined soybean cake, sesame cake, powdered blood, fish meal, powdered bones and red-yellow soil. The mixed organic fertilizer 0.45, 0.90 and 1.35 Mg $ha^{-1}$ application in Ihyeon series was treated based on soil testing for lettuce cultivation in plastic film house. These results showed that the yield was increased the 18 and 19%over control by the mixed organic fertilizer application 0.45 and 0.90 Mg $ha^{-1}$, respectively. In the physical properties of the soil, the porosity of mixed organic fertilizer 1.35 Mg $ha^{-1}$ treatment was highest at 58.8%. Our results clearly revealed that the organic fertilizer using Rhodobacter sp. SA16 and mass production of mixed strains could be a useful technology in pursuing environment-friendly agriculture.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.98-107
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• 2007

Most of plastic film house plots in Korea have salinity problems caused by salt accumulations associated with continuous cropping including the heavy applications of chemical fertilizers, and high evapotranspiration. The objective of this study was to investigate soil properties and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.) productivity in plastic film houses as influenced by the short-term crop rotation in the continuous watermelon-cultivated soils. The short-term rotational crops selected were corn, Chinese cabbage, radish, young radish, lettuce, spinach, and onion. Soil pH increased in most plots where a short-term crop was added to the crop rotation, except where radish was added. The content of soil organic matter significantly decreased in the lettuce-cultivated plot. The available phosphorus content in the soils increased with the cultivations of spinach and onion. Exchangeable Ca and Mg tended to increase in most of plots where a short-term rotational crop was grown, whereas the exchangeable K was clearly reduced by more than 50% in the same plots. Cultivation of rotational crops during the post-harvest season significantly decreased the electrical conductivity (EC) and the concentrations of soluble anions, such as chloride ($Cl^-$), nitrate ($NO_3{^-}$), and sulfate ($SO{_4}^{2-}$) in the soils. In particular, the EC decrease was related with the decrease in soil $K^+$ to $Ca^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$ ratio. In all plots cultivated with the shot-term rotational crops, the ratios of bacteria to fungi (B/F) increased. However, the improvement in soil properties after adding a rotational crop did not result in a clear improvement in watermelon quantity or quality as measured by fruit weight and sugar content. Therefore, the addition of short-term rotational crops to a continuous watermelon cropping system would be beneficial to improve target soil properties in plastic film house plots studied.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2000

Management of phosphorus availability in the plastic film house soils in Korea merits attention because salts have been accumulated for last decades due to the heavy application of fertilizers and intensive cropping practices. In an attempt to characterize the P availability, available phosphorus contents and electrical conductivity of the saturated extracts ($EC_e$) were measured for soils collected from the 169 plastic film houses in Kangwon-do. Soil phosphorus contents were analyzed by methods of Lancaster, Bray No. 1, Olsen, Truog, water extractable and saturation extracts. Phosphorus concentrations in the saturated extracts of the plastic film house soils ranged from 0.02 to $34mg\;L^{-1}$, with the average of $8mg\;L^{-1}$. The available $P_2O_5$ of the soils ranged from 136 to $3,689mg\;Kg^{-1}$, with the average of $1,261mg\;Kg^{-1}$. The water soluble $P_2O_5$ ranged from 2 to $118mg\;L^{-1}$, with the average of $39mg\;L^{-1}$. A significant correlation existed between saturation extract P (Y) and available $P_2O_5$ (X) [Y = -5.075 + 0.018X, $r=0.662^{***}$] indicating $1.0mg\;P\;L^{-1}$ of in the saturated extract was equivalent to $337mg\;Kg^{-1}$ of the available $P_2O_5$ by Lancaster method. Electrical conductivity of the saturated pastes ($EC_e$) was highly significantly correlated with EC (1:5), yielding the slope of 12.2 for the coarse textured plastic film house soils. Results of higher concentrations of available P in soil solution and dilution factor of 12.2 for $EC_e$ demonstrate that a special care must be taken in terms of fertilizer management and data interpretation for soils under this specific condition.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.47-58
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• 2002

Much of the plastic film house soils in the southern part of the Korean peninsula are managed using a upland-paddy rotation culture system (hereafter, RS) to prevent salt accumulation in soil. However, information on the effects of RS on soil properties and environmental conservation is limited. In order to determine the effects of RS on soil properties, 22 fields under RS and 20 fields under a non-rotation system (hereafter, NRS) in plastic film houses were selected in Chinju, in southern Korea, and the P distribution characteristics were investigated, including the chemical properties. The RS contributed to the removal of water-soluble salts in the surface layer and to the redistribution of organic matter evenly in the soil profile. In the AP horizon, available phosphorus levels were $1,611mg\;kg^{-1}$ in RS and $1,789mg\;kg^{-1}$ in NRS, which markedly exceeds the optimum range for plant cultivation. Total P was lower in RS (average $4,593mg\;kg^{-1}$) than in NRS (average $5,440mg\;kg^{-1}$) and this decrease was taken to be an effect of RS. Inorganic P was the predominant form of P in both systems, followed by organic P and residual P. A soil profile showed that total and inorganic P concentrations decreased with depth in both systems. However, organic P increased withdepth in RS, which was in contrast to that noted in NRS. The increase in organic P with depth in RS implied that organically rather than inorganically derived phosphate moved through the soil. The concentrations of water-soluble P, Ca-P and Al-P were higher in NRS than in RS soil profiles, but the Fe-P concentration was higher in RS than in NRS, which might be affected by the anaerobic conditions found in paddy soils. In both systems, the Al-P form of extractable P predominated in the surface layer, followed by Ca-P, Fe-P and water-soluble P. With increasing depth, the composition rate of Ca-P to extractable P decreased to less than 10% in the 60-70cm depth, as Fe-P dominated at this level. The content of water-soluble P, potentially the main source of eutrophication, was higher in NRS than in RS. These results indicated that the RS used in plastic film houses contributed to the removal of water-soluble salts but only slightly decreased the phosphate concentration.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.74-82
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• 2004

This study was conducted to estimate the optimum application rate of fertilizer N based on $NO_3-N$ concentration in soils for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cultivation in plastic film house. Tomato plants were cultivated with and without fertilizer in twelve soils which have different concentrations of $NO_3-N$ ranging from 46 to $344mg\;kg^{-1}$. Dry weight (DW) of above-ground part of tomato with no fertilizer ranged from 28.9 to $112.5g\;plant^{-1}$, depending on N-supplying capability of soils. The soil $NO_3-N$ was positively correlated with DW ($r=0.83^{**}$) and N uptake ($r=0.78^{**}$) by tomatoes in no fertilizer treatment, and negatively correlated with fertilizer effciencies resulted from the differences of DW and N uptake between fertilized and non-fertilized plot. The relationships between soil $NO_3-N$ concentration and DW, N uptake, and fertilizer efficiency were analyzed to determine the critical levels of soil $NO_3-N$ for tomato cultivation. The limit critical levels of soil $NO_3-N$ were estimated to be more than $280mg\;kg^{-1}$ for no application of fertilizer N and to be less than $50mg\;kg^{-1}$ for recommended application of fertilizer N. These critical levels of soil $NO_3-N$ were nearly the same as those calculated from regression equation between electrical conductivity(EC) and soil nitrate for critical levels of EC in recommendation equation of fertilizer N for tomato under the plastic film house by NationaI Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology. Consequently, the optimal application rate of ferdilizer N for tomato cultivation in the soils containing $NO_3-N$ concentration between $280mg\;kg^{-1}$ and $50mg\;kg^{-1}$ was estimated by the equation Y = -0.4348X＋121.74, where Y is the percent(%) to the recommended application rate of N fertilizer and X is the soil $NO_3-N$ concentration ($mg\;kg^{-1}$).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.407-416
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• 2003

Although the requirement and optimum soil level of Si for oriental melon are still not well understood, silicate fertilizer is commonly applied to the oriental melon in plastic film houses where soil silicate level is relatively high. In this research the effects of silicate fertilizer on growth, fruit yield and fruit quality of oriental melon, and soil properties were investigated in plastic film house where the soil available silicate was $212mg\;SiO_2\;kg^{-1}$. Silicate fertilizer was applied in the rates of 100, 200, and $300kg\;10a^{-1}$. The application of silicate fertilizer could not increase the early growth of oriental melon, and also the fruit yield and quality were not different among the treatments. Available Si and P contents in soils and also Si and P contents in leaf of oriental melon of the different treatments were not significantly different. In the relationship between total Si in oriental melon leaf and soil silicate extracted by 1 N sodium acetate, optimum soil available silicate level for oriental melon was found to be around $100mg\;SiO_2\;kg^{-1}$. These results indicate that the additional silicate fertilization in soils of available silicate higher than $100mg\;SiO_2\;kg^{-1}$ is unnecessary, and such application of silicate can not have any beneficial effect on the growth and fruit yield of oriental melon.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.65-72
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• 2006

Objective of this research was to remove the accumulated salts in the plastic film house soils by installing the perforated PVC (${\phi}10cm$) underdrainage pipes at 50 cm depth of soils with cultivating vegetables. Efficiency of the underdrainage pipes was assessed based on the changes of soil chemical properties such as pH, EC, and cations, and growth and yield parameters of the vegetables between the two treatments; the control and the underdrainage pipe treatments. The EC of the underdrainage pipes installed soils after two growing seasons were in the ranges of $1.42-2.88dS\;m^{-1}$ but those of the control were in the ranges of $3.86-4.53dS\;m^{-1}$, indication the underdrainage pipes effectively removed the accumulated salts in soils. The pHs of the control soils and the underdrainage pipe installed soil were in the ranges of 7.2-7.5 and 6.9-7.3, respectively. There was a significant correlation between pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soils ($CEC=17.107{\times}pH-106.2$, $r^2=0.759$, P < 0.05). The ECs of the soils at different depths were compared between the two treatments after cultivating vegetables with lettuce-lettuce-garland chrysanthemum rotation systems. The ECs of the control soils at depths of 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, and 40-50 cm were 3.45, 3.47, 3.03, 2.03, and $2.28dS\;m^{-1}$, respectively, with decreasing with soil depths. On the other hand, the respective ECs of the underdrainage pipes installed soils were 2.43, 2.52, 2.28, 4.00, and $4.23dS\;m^{-1}$ with increasing with soil depths. This might be derived from the salts moved downward with the draining water into the subsoil. The order of cations moved downward was Mg > Ca > K, based on the ratios of cations at specific depth over those at the surface soil. The survival rates of lettuce after 15 days of transplanting in the underdrainage pipe installed soils were 98.2% as compared to 86.6% of the control. The underdrainage pipe treatment also increased the diameter of the lettuce stalk from 12.9mm of the control to 13.7mm. Overall results demonstrated that the installment of the underdrainage pipes in the subsoils of the salt accumulated plastic film house soil effectively removed the salts by leaching downward,resulting in lowering soil EC and enhancing the growth and yield of vegetables.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.38-44
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• 2003

This work was conducted to estimate amounts of irrigating water during the growing periods of pepper after estimating water consumption in the plastic film house in 1997 and 1998. Evapo-transpiration (ET) under conditions of a black and white PE mulch and sandy or clay loam soil which enhanced the growth and yield of red peppers was greater than that at the bare and sand soil. Average ET of pepper grown in pots accounted for 56.5%∼79.7% of total supplying water in 1997 and 1998. Most of ET was proportioned to the transpiration amount (91∼94%), but there was some difference between amounts of ET and transpiration plus evaporation. Although 57 depended on conditions of the soil texture and plant growth, transpiration for pepper growing periods was amounted to 337.7∼774.3 m in the clay soil,910.6 m in the sandy loam soil, and 253.1 mm in the sandy soil.