Effects of Long-Term Application of Slurry Composting Bio-Filtration on Red Pepper Growth, Yield, and Nutrient Use Efficiency and Soil Response

• Published in: Weon'ye gwahag gi'sulji Vol. 36; no. 4; pp. 529 - 541
• Main Authors: Lim, Tae Jun, Kim, Ki In, Yoo, Jingi, Park, Jin Myeon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 한국원예학회HST 01.01.2018; 한국원예학회
• Subjects: 농학; red pepper; soil response; SCB; nitrogen use efficiency; yield
• ISSN: 1226-8763; 2465-8588
• DOI: 10.12972/kjhst.20180053

We assessed the long-term application effects of slurry composting bio-filtration (SCB) liquidfertilizer on red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) yield and soil response. Our study used arandomized complete block design with three replicates over five years (2007 to 2011). Weevaluated seven nitrogen treatments: control, five rates of SCB (SCB0, SCB1, SCB2, SCB3, andSCB4), and chemical fertilizer (Urea3). SCB was used as basal fertilization and three top dressingdoses of urea at the 30th, 60th, and 90th day after transplanting were applied. For plant analysis,fresh fruit yield, N uptake, fruit N use efficiency (FNUE), and quality (soluble sugar andcapsaicinoid concentrations) were measured; and soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organicmatter, inorganic N, P, exchangeable K, Ca, Mg, and Na, Zn, Fe, and Cu were analyzed. In thisstudy, fresh fruit yield for Urea3 was similar to SCB3 and SCB4. Fruit soluble sugar andcapsaicinoid concentrations were the same for all N treatments. The lowest FNUE was shown underSCB0 and the highest FNUE was under SCB4. Five years of SCB treatment had no effect on soilchemical properties. For example, soil pH, EC, and soil organic matter content did not show anychanges for all N treatments, regardless of N fertilizer source, and soil P was not influenced byincreasing SCB rates. Also, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu did not show any differenceamong treatments. Although the concentrations of K and Na in soil increased with SCB rate, theconcentration of K was still less than the recommended K level from the National Academy ofAgricultural Science, and the sodium adsorption ratio indicated that the increased Na may notadversely affect growing crops. Therefore, the accumulation of K and Na was not critical during ourstudy. These results suggest that SCB for basal fertilization can be used as one of the N fertilizersources, replacing chemical N fertilizer sources. The recommended SCB rate for basal fertilizationshould be 103 kg N/ha (SCB3) or 128 kg N/ha (SCB4). Consequently, use of SCB liquid fertilizercould provide an alternative source of pre-transplant N fertilizer for red pepper production. KCI Citation Count: 0