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Hairy vetch, compost and chemical fertilizer management effects on red pepper yield, quality, and soil microbial population

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  • Cultivation Physiology
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Abstract

Organic fertilizers may contribute substantially to improving yield, soil quality, and reducing the environmental impacts of conventional farming. This study investigates the effects of organic fertilizers, like green manure composed of hairy vetch (HV), livestock compost (LC), or a combination of the two (LC + HV), has on red pepper growth, yield, fruit quality, and soil microbial populations as compared to more commonly used chemical fertilizers. This study investigates the effects of different fertilizer treatments on red pepper growth, yield, quality, and soil microbial populations. The experimental plot treatments were no fertilizer (CON), chemical fertilizer, HV, LC and LC + HV. In these treatments, 70-day-old red pepper plants were grown for an additional 140 days under treatment conditions. Plant dry weight, macro- and micro-nutrient contents were analyzed. Post-harvest soil properties and cultivable soil microbial population were determined. HV and LC + HV treatments had significantly high leaf and stem dry weight. All the treatments increased T–N, P and Mg contents in plants and the highest uptake was recorded for plants fertilized with HV. After harvest, soil fertilized with LC + HV had higher soil organic matter and available P, K and Ca as compared to chemical fertilizers. In addition, soil fertilized with organic fertilizers had significantly more cultivable microbial populations than chemical fertilizers. Overall, these results suggest that organic fertilizers could be used to reduce the application of synthetic fertilizers and aiding sustainable agriculture.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the “Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. PJ01138101)” of the Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Horticultural and Herbal Crop Environment Division, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju, Republic of Korea

    Gopal Selvakumar, Pyoung Ho Yi, Seong Eun Lee, Seung Gab Han & Bong Nam Chung

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  1. Gopal Selvakumar
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  2. Pyoung Ho Yi
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  3. Seong Eun Lee
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  4. Seung Gab Han
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  5. Bong Nam Chung
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Correspondence to Bong Nam Chung.

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Selvakumar, G., Yi, P.H., Lee, S.E. et al. Hairy vetch, compost and chemical fertilizer management effects on red pepper yield, quality, and soil microbial population. Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 59, 607–614 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-018-0078-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-018-0078-z

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