Effect of Organic Fertilizer Application on Plant Growth and Soil Chemical Properties under Different Crops Cultivation

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effect of organic fertilizer application on yield and soil chemical properties for different crops; pepper, garlic, lettuce and zucchini. This study was carried out; 1) to compare crop productivity and relative efficiency of nitrogen (N) under different fertilization level, and 2) to evaluate soil chemical properties during 2 years of cultivation. The organic fertilizer was applied at 50, 100 and 150% level of the pre-plant fertilization rate based on N rate according to soil testing recommendation system. Control treatment was conducted with inorganic fertilization; urea, fused superphosphate and potassium chloride fertilizer. The yields of organic fertilizer treatments were higher than control. And also, relative efficiency of N in organic fertilizer treatments were similar to that of inorganic treatment. Soil properties such as pH, EC and exchangeable cations (K, Ca, Mg, Na) were not significantly different among all treatment, there is no difference between 2 years of experiment. In organic fertilizer application treatments, soil organic matter content showed a tendency of increase compared to inorganic treatment. These results suggest that organic fertilizer application was an effective management strategy to improve crop yield and soil fertility. But, it was short-term monitoring experiment, therefore, long-term experiment is required to evaluate organic fertilizer fertilization impact on crop and soil properties.