• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.615-622
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to evaluate microbial contamination of melons in Korea. A total of 123 samples including melon fruits, leaves, seeds, soils, and irrigation water were collected from farms and markets to detect total aerobic bacteria, coliform, Escherichia coli, and pathogenic bacteria such as Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus. Samples were collected from Iksan and Nonsan farms to monitor bacterial levels on pre-market melons. The total aerobic and coliform bacteria on melon cultivation were between 0.43 and 6.65 log CFU $g^{-1}$, and 0.67 and 2.91 log CFU $g^{-1}$, respectively. Bacillus cereus, a fecal coliform, was detected in soils and melon leaves from Iksan farm at 2.95, 0.73 log CFU $g^{-1}$, respectively, and in soils from Nonsan farm at 3.16 log CFU $g^{-1}$. Market melon samples were collected to assay bacterial load on melon being sold to consumers. The contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria in agricultural markets, big-box retailers, and traditional markets were 4.82, 3.94, 3.99 log CFU $g^{-1}$, respectively. The numbers of coliform in melon on the markets ranged from 0.09 to 0.49 log CFU $g^{-1}$. Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected in any samples. The count of total aerobic bacteria on melon seeds ranged from 0.33 to 3.34 log CFU $g^{-1}$. This study found that irrigation water, soil, manure and various farm work activities including post-harvest processes were latent sources of microbial contamination. These results suggest that hygienic management and monitoring of soil, water, and agricultural material should be performed to reduce microbial contamination in melon production.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.394-403
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• 2023

In the pursuit of sustainable and environmentally-friendly agricultural practices, we conducted an extensive study on the rhizosphere bacteria inhabiting soils that have been devoid of chemical fertilizers for an extended period exceeding 40 years. Through this investigation, we isolated a total of 80 species of plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacteria and assessed their potential to enhance plant growth. Among these isolates, Burkholderia cepacia CD2 displayed remarkable plant growth-promoting activity, making it an optimal candidate for further analysis. Burkholderia cepacia CD2 exhibited a range of beneficial characteristics conducive to plant growth, including phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, denitrification, nitrate utilization, and urease activity. These attributes are well-known to positively influence the growth and development of plants. To validate the taxonomic classification of the strain, 16S rRNA gene sequencing confirmed its placement within the Burkholderia genus, providing further insights into its phylogenetic relationship. To delve deeper into the potential mechanisms underlying its plant growth-promoting properties, we sought to confirm the presence of specific genes associated with plant growth promotion in CD2. To achieve this, whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed by Plasmidsaurus Inc. (USA) utilizing Oxford Nanopore technology (Abingdon, UK). The WGS analysis of the genome of CD2 revealed the existence of a subsystem function, which is thought to be a pivotal factor contributing to improved plant growth. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that Burkholderia cepacia CD2 has the potential to serve as a microbial fertilizer, offering a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.245-250
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• 2004

Farmers typically apply the dressed soil (coarse saprolite) for various reasons in the sloped upland with high altitude in Kangwon province. However, little researches on the impacts of application of dressed soil in uplands were conducted. Therefore, it is necessary to assess soil quality in this area and to study adverse effects on soil and water due to application of dressed soil. Coarse saprolite itself showed signiScantly poor chemical properties, Particularly P and organic matter contents were not enough for crops to grow. With respect to biological qualities such as enzyme activity and microbial population, coarse saprolite itself showed poor qualities. For example, bacterial population in coarse saprolite contains six times or ten times smaller populations. Based on survey at Jawoon-ri in Hongchon-gun, this region is susceptible for soil erosion due to massive amounts of coarse saprolite application, undesirably long slope length, etc. When weestimated soil loss, more than 40% of farming field in this region exceeded $11.2MT\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$. According to experiment by installing sediment basins. the sediment basin with up-down tillage and application with dressed soil had the highest soil loss and runofT, while the sediment basin with contour tillage and without soil dressing showed the lowest soil erosion and runoff.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.472-481
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• 2017

Agricultural field near at the abandoned metal mine and industrial area has a high possibility to be polluted by heavy metals. However, concern about chemical properties including heavy metal concentration has been increased and biological properties such as soil respiration has been minimal in heavy metal polluted field. Therefore, main objective of this research was to evaluate soil respiration as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in agricultural field. Total of 60 sampling sites including each 30 sites of abandoned metal mine and industrial area were selected and heavy metal concentration, soil respiration, and chemical properties were measured. Results showed that heavy metal concentration in metal mine area was ranged Cu: $6.21~85.23mg\;kg^{-1}$, Pb: $23.84{\sim}1,044.72mg\;kg^{-1}$, As: $1.88{\sim}691.44mg\;kg^{-1}$, Zn: $18.72{\sim}527.55mg\;kg^{-1}$, Cd: $0.58{\sim}4.27mg\;kg^{-1}$, and Cu: $0.29{\sim}30.62mg\;kg^{-1}$, Pb: $4.41{\sim}19.77mg\;kg^{-1}$, As: $2.23{\sim}11.76mg\;kg^{-1}$, Zn $39.98{\sim}109.59mg\;kg^{-1}$, Cd $0.29{\sim}0.57mg\;kg^{-1}$ for industrial area respectively. While no sampling site was exceed the threshold value of each heavy metals in industrial field, metal mine area was highly polluted with Pb, As, Zn, and Cd. Soil respiration in the metal mine and industrial area was ranged $12.05{\sim}299.80mg\;O_2\;kg^{-1}$ and $27.68{\sim}330.94mg\;O_2\;kg^{-1}$, respectively. Correlation analysis between heavy metal concentration in soil and soil respiration showed that negative correlation was observed in metal mine area while no correlation was observed in industrial area. This result might indicate that as heavy metal concentration was increased, microbial activity in soil was decreased resulting decrease of soil respiration rate. Overall, soil respiration can be used as indicator of heavy metal pollution in soil and more biological properties need to be evaluated to better understand heavy metal pollution in soil.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.135-140
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• 1988

A laboratory experiment was conducted to find out the number of soil microorganisms, identification and enumeration of soil microbial species on the mineral and volcanic ash soil with different cropping system of the Jeju Island. The results obtained were summarized as follows: 1. The number of bacteria was high in mineral soil with rotation of upland crops than that of volcanic ash soil with continuous cropping system. 2. According to identification of soil bacteria, the most of bacteria were composed to short rod with Gram negative. Among the bacteria species, Rhizobium spp. and Flavobacterium spp. were most high population in both of mineral and volcanic ash soil. 3. The number of fungi in mineral soils were reduced by the rotated cultivation of upland crops but no significant differences were observed in volcanic ash soil with continuous cropping system. On the other hand, Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., and Penicillium spp. were most high population in both of mineral and volcanic ash soil. 4. Comparing of the number and species ot microorganism to the cash crops soil in main land, about 10 to 100 times for bacteria and more than two times for the number and species of fungi were lowered in Jeju Island soil.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.61-75
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• 2022

This study evaluated the potential threat of agricultural and human activities to groundwater in the Noseong stream watershed, a typical agricultural area, through hydrogeochemical characteristics and microbial community analyses. The groundwater in the study area was Ca-SO₄ and Ca-HCO₃ types alluvial aquifer mainly used for agricultural and living purposes, and contained high levels of NO₃^- and Cl^- ions generated from anthropogenic sources such as fertilizer, livestock wastewater, and domestic sewage. Proteobacteria was most abundant in all samples with an average of 46.1% while Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria were dominant on an occasional basis. The prevalence of aerobic bacteria such as the genus Mycobacterium, Flavobacterium, and Sphingomonas suggests that groundwater was well connected with the surface layer. The potential pathogen Mycobacterium was detected in most samples, and other pathogenic bacteria were also widely distributed, indicating the vulnerability to contamination. Therefore, an integrated management system is required to secure the sustainable use of groundwater in agricultural areas with high groundwater dependence.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.822-828
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• 2012

Organic fruit production has increased due to consumer's interest and government's political support for environmentally-friendly agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cover plants on soil microbial community and establish the fruit cultivation method by organic farming techniques. Cover plants used as an organic nutrient source in an apple orchard were rye and barley, the Gramineae and red clover and hairy vetch, the Leguminosae. In the effects of cover plants on the soil chemical characteristics, the soil pH values were higher than that of conventional organic pear orchard. The content of P showed no significant difference between control and cover plant plots. Organic matter level was similar in control and Gramineae cover plant plots, while organic matter content in cover plants belong to Leguminosae was lower than that of control plot. K content was lower in the plots treated with rye and red clover than control plot, while K content in hairy vetch treated plot was higher than control plot. Ca content was lower in control plot than in cover plant treated plots. Concentrations of Mg in the plots treated with barley and hairy vetch was lower than control plot. In August rye and red clover covered soil showed higher bacterial community density than that of control soil and barley treated soil showed highest Actinomycetes community density among treatments. Barley and hairy vetch soils showed higher level of fungi community density than that of control soil in August. In pyrosequencing analysis barley treated soil showed highest distribution ratio of Actinomycetes among treatment. Our findings might be used as basic data for choosing cover plant with effective organic matter decomposition and nutrition supply capacity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.63-71
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• 2015

Recently the roof gardening has become very popular and even on the apartment-veranda and on the roofs in high buildings many kinds of vegetables and berries are cultivated. And the demand of the nutritional supplement for the effective plant growth is also increasing. The general urban conditions are to be adapted for plant growth. A different hygroscopic and temperature-conditions after regions, sunshine and wind have strong influences on the plant growth and usually it is not optimal enough. It is because why a nutritional condition in soil for plant growth so important and essential. The usual compound-soil or -fertilizer cannot offer enough quantities of nutrients for plant growth and additional soil conditioner becomes more necessary. There are many kinds of soil conditioners like hydrogel in the market and we studied on Geohumus, Montigel and Geko, which are widely used in Europe and other countries. Water absorption and microbial immobilization with effective microorganisms were tested and compared. The EM solution was identified as bacteria, fungi and azotobacter etc. and they were immobilized at the soil conditioners at first. And the cultivated and immobilized at the soil conditioners EM-solution was added to the plant soil. 1 g of the soil conditioners absorbed ca. 20 g of water. The plant grew 10 cm more, got 3 times more branches and 2 times more fruits in the soil with soil conditioners immobilized with microorganisms. With water addition the plant with both conditions in the soil could stay fresh in comparison to without soil conditioners.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.253-259
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• 2012

Disposal of high amount of coal combustion by-products, such as fly ash and bottom ash, is of a great concern to the country, due to the huge treatment cost and land requirement. On the other hand, those coal-ash wastes are considered to have desirable characteristics that may improve physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. Especially, compared with fly ash, bottom ash has a larger particle size, porous surface area, and usable amount of micronutrients. In the present study, we examined bottom as a soil amendment for mitigating $CO_2$ emission and enhancing carbon sequestration in soils fertilized with organic matter (hairy vetch, green barely, and oil cake fertilizer). Through laboratory incubation, $CO_2$ released from the soil was quantitatively and periodically monitored with an enforced-aeration and high-temperature respirometer. We observed that amendment of bottom ash led to a marked reduction in $CO_2$ emission rate and cumulative amount of $CO_2$ released, which was generally proportional to the amount of bottom ash applied. We also found that the temporal patterns of $CO_2$ emission and C sequestration effects were partially dependent on the relative of proportion labile carbon and C/N ratio of the organic matter. Our results strongly suggest that amendment of bottom ash has potential benefits for fixing labile carbon as more stable soil organic matter, unless the bottom ash contains toxic levels of heavy metals or other contaminants.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.485-491
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• 2011

The present study evaluated the soil microbial communities by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) in upland soils at 25 sites in Gyeongnam Province. The total bacteria content was $143nmol\;g^{-1}$ for in inclined piedmont, $75nmol\;g^{-1}$ for fan and valley, $49nmol\;g^{-1}$ for hill areas, and $44nmol\;g^{-1}$ for riversider plain. The fungi content was 2.4 times higher in sandy loam than $21nmol\;g^{-1}$ in silt loam (p<0.01). In addition, inclined piedmont soils had a significantly higher ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids compared with fan and valley soils (p<0.05). The communities of total bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the inclined piedmont soils were significantly higher than those in the fan and valley soils and in the riversider plain soils (p<0.05), whereas the community of fungi was significantly lower (p<0.05). In principal component analyses of soil microbial communities, our findings showed that inclined piedmont was positive relationship with total bacteria and actinomycetes in upland soils.