• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.344-355
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• 2003

Korea is one of those countries that have very high usage rates of chemical fertilizers per unit area of cropland. To reduce the fertilizer application rate, a variety of agricultural polices has been introduced since the 1990s. In this study, fertilizer usage was surveyed on the farm base throughout the country in 1999, and the data were compared with those of 1992. Organic fertilizer application rates were decreased in most cereal crops with time pass, but maintained similar levels in vegetables grown in plastic-film houses and in upland soils. Chemical fertilizer application rates were decreased in most of the cereal crops and vegetables surveyed; however, this reduction was concentrated in phosphate and potassium usage, but not in nitrogen. In spite of this decrease, the fertilizer application levels to most crops were maintained at levels much higher than recommended. In the nutrient balance, which was calculated from the difference between input (chemical and organic fertilizers) and output (agricultural products), the nitrogen nutrient surplus did not decrease; however, phosphate and potassium decreased by 21% and 13%, respectively, in 1999 compared with 1992. To reduce fertilizer utilization and to conserve environment, further reduction of fertilizer application is essential.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.683-688
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• 2015

Nowadays, sustainable and environment-friendly agriculture has become an important issue all around the world, and repeated applications of mineral and/or organic fertilizer will probably affect mineral nutrient dynamics in soil in the long term but only a limited number of observations are available. This study was carried out to investigate whether there is any influence of different fertilizer management for red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivation on soil physicochemical properties, leaf mineral content, yield and fruit quality in the aspect of long-term practice in open field condition. NPK, NPK+compost, compost only, and unfertilized control plot were included in the treatments. The application of chemical fertilizer and/or compost repeated annually for 17 years from 1994 to 2011. Soil organic matter content was higher in compost treatments than in no-manure treatments. Available phosphate and the yield of red pepper were highest in NPK+compost treatment followed by NPK (chemical fertilizer), compost, and control. The results indicate that in the long term, nitrogen supply is still needed for increasing red pepper yield, but reduction in the use of chemical fertilizer could be also possible with the proper application of compost.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.327-334
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• 2014

Emission reduction of $CH_4$ (methane gas) from rice paddy soil is a very important measure for climate change mitigation in agricultural sector. In this study, we investigated the changes in crop yield and $CH_4$ emissions in response to application of biochar and fertilizers. The experimental site is located in Hwasung, Kyunggido and experimental design is the split-plot method with three replicates. Treatments included rice straw (RS) and biochar (BC) amendments nested with the conventional NPK fertilizer (NPK) and slow release fertilizer (SRF). Control was also prepared with the soil with the conventional NPK fertilization with no amendment. Measurement of $CH_4$ emission was conducted during the growing season of 2014 using a dynamic chamber method. The results showed that application of rice straw increased daily $CH_4$ emission rate by 15%, while application of biochar reduced daily $CH_4$ emission rate by 38%. When we combined biochar application with slow release fertilizer, $CH_4$ emission was reduced by 45%. Further, the crop yield was also increased in all treatments compared with the control except for the treatment of rice straw application with slow release fertilizer. Overall results imply that biochar amendment to agricultural soil can be an effective strategy to decrease annual $CH_4$ emission with no reduction in crop yield.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2008

The objective of this study was to estimate the pollutant loads from paddy fields by cultivation practices using a non-point-sources models. One of them is CREAMS-PADDY model that was developed considering the water balance and mass balance of paddy fields. The CREAMS-PADDY model was applied to provide basic data to reduce runoff loadings under various scenarios such as various water management control and various fertilizer condition. The model was verified against T-N, T-P and runoff flow data collected during cropping periods at 2000. The model results agreed well with the measured data in verification. The results showed that the model could be used for estimating the runoff loadings from irrigated paddy fields by cultivation practices was possible. Comparison of simulated the standard height and the sluice management of T-N and T-P runoff loadings from paddy fields were +32.4%, +10.3% in 10 mm below the standard height, -29.2%, -35.9% in 20 mm above the standard height, 52.6%, 59.0% in 40 mm above the standard height, respectively. Comparison of simulated the standard fertilizer and the fertilizer control of T-N and T-P runoff loadings from paddy fields were -1.3%, -21.7%in reduction of conventional fertilizer 30%, -1.0%, -12.5% in reduction of standard fertilizer 30%, respectively. Therefore, reducing nonpoint-sources nutrient loading by reducing fertilization may not work well in the range of normal paddy rice farming practices, and instead it could be achieved by reducing surface drainage outflow.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.3-8
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• 2012

A scaled-up bioconversion of fishmeal wastewater (FMW) into liquid fertilizer was performed five times in a $1m^3$ reactor in order to examine the feasibility of commercialization. The importance of aeration was marked. Analyses indicated that dissolved oxygen (DO) level was closely related to the value of oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and it was crucial to achieve high-quality liquid fertilizer. When pure oxygen was supplied through four diffusers into the reactor, DO levels and ORP values were maintained over 1.2 mg/L and 0.2 mV, respectively all the time during 52 hr of bioconversion. The pH changed from 6.8 to 5.9. The average removal percentages of chemical oxygen demand ($COD_{Cr}$) and total nitrogen (TN) were 75.0% and 71.6%, respectively. Compared to the result acquired in a 5-L reactor, bioconversion of FMW into liquid fertilizer was achieved in a shorter time under the same removal percentages of $COD_{Cr}$ and TN. The 52-hr culture of inoculated FMW was phytotoxic-free and it possessed comparable fertilizing ability to a liquid fertilizer made from the fish waste in hydroponic culture with amino acid contents of 5.93 g/ 100 g sample. From all the above results, transferring lab-scale data to large-scale production appeared to be successful. As a result, the commercialization of a liquid fertilizer made from FMW was feasible.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.37-40
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• 1976

The experiment designed to obtain information relative to the favourable levels to apply N.P.K fertilizer was conducted at the hop garden of College of Agriculture, S.N.U. in 1975. The varieties used were 1-year-old Cascade, Hallertau and Shinshuwase. The design of the experiment was a split plot design with 3 replications. Yields were recorded as fresh weight of harvested cones in gram per split plot. The results obtained from the experiment were as follows: 1. The results from analysis of the data for 3 varieties indicated that significant increase in yield were found due to the application of 46g N, 20g P2O5 and 60kg K2O per plant, although higher level thn the above caused a remarkable reduction of yield. 2. The individual fresh weight of harvested cones was significantly increased with application of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, regardless of fertilizer levels. 3. Analysis of variance for yields showed that there were no significant interaction between fertilizer level and variety, i.e., all varieties used might require the same fertilizer level.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.418-426
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• 2023

This study focused on nitrous oxide, a major greenhouse gas produced in agricultural settings through bacterial nitrogen oxidation in aerobic soil. Nitrogen fertilizer in farmland is identified as a primary source of nitrous oxide. The importance of reducing excess nitrogen in soil to mitigate nitrous oxide production is well-known. The study investigated the use of liquefied pig manure as an alternative to urea fertilizer in conventional agriculture. Results showed a more than two-fold reduction in nitrous oxide emissions in pepper cultivation areas with liquefied pig manure compared to that with urea fertilizer. The population of Nitrosospira, a nitrous oxide-producing bacterium, decreased by over 10% with liquefied pig manure. Additionally, nirK and nosZ, which are related to the denitrification process, significantly increased in the urea fertilizer group, whereas levels in the liquefied pig manure group resembled those with no nitrogen treatment. In conclusion, the experiment confirmed that liquefied pig manure can serve as an eco-friendly nitrogen fertilizer, significantly reducing nitrous oxide production, a major contributor to the atmospheric greenhouse effect.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.397-403
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• 2015

Heavy metals reduce the photosynthetic efficiency and disrupt metabolic reactions in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, by replacing the metal ions in metalloproteins that use essential metal ions, such as Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe, as co-factors, heavy metals ultimately lead to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These, in turn, cause destruction of the cell membrane through lipid peroxidation, and eventually cause the plant to necrosis. Given the aforementioned factors, this study was aimed to understand the physiological responses of rice to cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) toxicity and the effect of essential metal ions on homeostasis. In order to confirm the level of physiological inhibition caused by heavy metal toxicity, hydroponically grown rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Dongjin) plants were exposed with $0-50{\mu}M$ cadmium (Cd, $CdCl_2$) and arsenic (As, $NaAsO_2$) at 3-leaf stage, and then investigated malondialdehyde (MDA) contents after 7 days of the treatment. With increasing concentrations of Cd and As, the MDA content in leaf blade and root increased with a consistent trend. At 14 days after treatment with $30{\mu}M$ Cd and As, plant height showed no significant difference between Cd and As, with an identical reduction. However, As caused a greater decline than Cd for shoot fresh weight, dry weight, and water content. The largest amounts of Cd and As were found in the roots and also observed a large amount of transport to the leaf sheath. Interestingly, in terms of Cd transfer to the shoot parts of the plant, it was only transported to upper leaf blades, and we did not detect any Cd in lower leaf blades. However, As was transferred to a greater level in lower leaf blades than in upper leaf blades. In the roots, Cd inhibited Zn absorption, while As inhibited Cu uptake. Furthermore, in the leaf sheath, while Cd and As treatments caused no change in Cu homeostasis, they had an antagonist effect on the absorption of Zn. Finally, in both upper and lower leaf blades, Cd and As toxicity was found to inhibit absorption of both Cu and Zn. Based on these results, it would be considered that heavy metal toxicity causes an increase in lipid peroxidation. This, in turn, leads to damage to the conductive tissue connecting the roots, leaf sheath, and leaf blades, which results in a reduction in water content and causes several physiological alterations. Furthermore, by disrupting homeostasis of the essential metal ions, Cu and Zn, this causes complete heavy metal toxicity.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.120-126
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• 2014

An accurate analysis of nutrient balance in different cropping systems is necessary for improving soil fertilities, causing higher crop yields and quality. This study was carried out to investigate the nutrient balance, changes in soil properties, and their effects on crop yield in long-term field cultivation under mono- and rotation-cropping systems (MCS and RCS, respectively). The analytical results of the soil properties showed that the application of mineral fertilizers alone in the MCS leads the reduction of soil CEC, exchangeable Ca, and microbial biomass C and N. Compared with the MCS of soybean, the RCS of soybean and barley significantly improved the soil properties, which increased crop yield. It might be due to the barley residue added to the RCS soil. Mean nutrient balances for 4 years were -55.9 kg N, +34.7 kg $P_2O_5$, and -0.3 kg $K_2O$ $ha^{-1}$ for the MCS and +19.7 kg N, +107.4 kg $P_2O_5$, and -48.6 kg $K_2O$ $ha^{-1}$ for the RCS, respectively. These nutrient imbalances mean that conventional fertilizer recommendations were inadequate for maintaining soil nutrient balance. From these results, we can conclude that the crop rotation may change comprehensive physical, chemical, and biological soil properties. These changes could affect the nutrient balance and then the crop yield.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.128-133
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• 1994

This study was carried out to get agronomic information about the tobacco culture in paddy soil where incidence of grey tobacco leaves used to appearly uptake of iron, manganese and chlorine due to soil acidity and high water level. Application of lime to paddy soil(pH5.4-5.6) reduced content of iron, manganese known as proceeding materials giving rise to variegated grey tobacco after curing, compared with non-treatment. Grey leaves were found mainly at lower and middle stalk positions, and incidence of grey tobacco was lowered by application of lime in the well drained field but was not affected by level of fertilizer application. Amendment of soil acidity by lime tended to decrease chlorine and manganese content in leaves. Nicotine and mangenese content of leaves were lowered by reduction of one-quarter fertilizer level. In case of lime treatment, increase of yield reached to 4-6% comparing with those of non-treatment but price per kg was not affected. Reduction of N fertilizer level to three-quarters had the equal yield but high quality of leaf comparing with standard fertilization in paddy field.