Hong-Bae Yun

Evaluation of Livestock Manure Utilization Rates as Agricultural Purpose in Developed OECD Countries by Using Nutrient Balances

The nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) balances in Korea during 1985-2006, which calculated according to the surface balance method of the PARCOM guidelines, continually increased with the lapse of year, and then might keep the highest levels with about and in 2006 among OECD countries. National phosphorus balance of the developed OECD countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands) in the livestock feeding industries has significantly decreased, due to limit livestock feeding density and nutrient application level by using strong legislation. However, Korean P balance was not apparent decrease, since the number of livestock feeding heads has been increasing, irrespective with the decrease of chemical fertilizer consumption. Manure P portion to the total P input amount of the above four OECD Countries in nutrient balance has continuously inclined to 60-70%. Therefore, the large portion of livestock manure might be used as nutrient source in agricultural side in these countries. In particular, manure P application levels of Belgium and The Netherlands, which have relatively high P balance and manure P portion to total P input dose, was estimated to be in 2004, and it was similar level with that of Korea in 2006. The manure P application levels for agricultural purpose has continuously decreased in these two OECD countries. In contrast, our manure P application rate continuously increased, and therefore we need the strong political countermeasure to control livestock feeding density at the resonable level.

Effect of Suboptimal Nutritional Status on Mineral Uptake and Carbohydrate Metabolism in Tomato Plants

A suitable supply of mineral elements into shoot via a root system from growth media makes plants favorable growth and yield. The shortage or surplus of minerals directly affects overall physiological reactions to plants and, especially, strongly influences carbohydrate metabolism as a primary response. We have studied mineral uptake and synthesis and translocation of soluble carbohydrates in N, P or K-deficient tomato plants, and examined the interaction between soluble carbohydrates and mineral elements. Four-weeks-old tomato plants were grown in a hydroponic growth container adjusted with suboptimal N (0.5 mmol L -1 Ca(NO₃)₂ㆍ4H₂O and 0.5 mmol L-1 KNO₃), P (0.05 mmol L -1 KH₂PO₄), and K (0.5 mmol L -1 KNO₃) for 30 days. The deficiency of specific mineral element led to a significant decrease in its concentration and affected the concentration of other elements with increasing treatment period. The appearance of the reduction, however, differed slightly between elements. The ratios of N uptake of each treatment to that in NPK sufficient tomato shoots were 4 (N deficient), 50 (P deficient), and 50% (K deficient). The P uptake ratios were 21 (N deficient), 19 (P deficient), and 28% (K deficient) and K uptake ratios were 11 (N deficient), 46 (P deficient), and 7% (K deficient). The deficiency of mineral elements also influenced on carbohydrate metabolism; soluble sugar and starch was substantially enhanced, especially in N or K deficiency. In conclusion, mineral deficiency leads to an adverse carbohydrate metabolism such as immoderate accumulation and restricted translocation as well as reduced mineral uptake and thus results in the reduced plant growth.

Decomposition of Livestock Manure in Soils Cultivated with Chinese Cabbage along an Altitude Gradient

This study was conducted to investigate decomposition of livestock manure in soils cultivated with Chinese cabbage along an alitude gradient. The experiments were conducted in Kangreung (17 m above sea level), Bongpyeong (430 m above sea level), and Daekwanryeong (800 m above the sea level) in order to assess the decomposition rate and accumulations of livestock manures depending on different altitudes. During chinese cabbage cultivation, the decomposition ratios of organic matter derived form livestock manure expressed as % of the initial organic matter content were 42∼48% for Kangreung, 26∼29% for Bongpyeong and 10∼14% for Daekwanryeong. Changes in air temperature with altitude might be a main factor affecting manure decomposition rates.

The Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium Contents in Organic Fertilizer

The nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents are the key factors to determine the quality of organic fertilizers and right amount of application for agricultural uses. The major nutrient contents in raw materials used for making organic fertilizers and products were evaluated in this study. Among the raw materials that were investigated, soybean cake gave the highest total N content at , followed by perilla cake (), rape seed oil cake (), cotton seed cake (), and rice bran (). We investigated 43 organic fertilizers and our results showed widely varied concentrations of major nutrients : total N at , total at , and total at . Our study would like to emphasize the importance of nutrient content labeling in packed organic fertilizers to be able to know its efficiency and for determining the right amount for application.

Rice Yield and Changes of Available Silicate in Paddy Soils from Long-term Application of Chemical Fertilizers and Soil Amendments

The changes of available silicate (Avail. ) contents in paddy soils (sandy loam) were assessed from data of the 41 years fertilization plots in which the continuous rice cropping experiment started in 1954 at the National Academy of Agricultural Science. The treatments were no fertilization (O), inorganic fertilization (NPK), inorganic fertilizer plus rice straw compost (NPK+C), inorganic fertilizer plus silicate fertilizer as a soil amendment (NPK+S), inorganic fertilizer plus rice straw compost and silicate fertilizer (NPK+CS) and inorganic fertilizer plus rice straw compost, silicate fertilizer and lime (NPK+CSL). Available silicate contents in NPK+S, NPK+CS and NPK in surface soil reached at the highest content () after 41 years and then levelled off. Available silicate contents in subsurface soil (25~30 cm) were higher in NPK+C and NPK+S treatments than those in other treatments. Continuous application of silicate fertilizer affected significantly on the levels of available silicate in surface and subsurface soils. Silicate uptake of top rice was more increased by 98% in NPK+CS and NPK+CSL over NPK. Grain yield also increased by 37~47% in NPK+CS and NPK+CSL as compared to NPK. The combined applications of inorganic fertilizers with silicate as a soil amendment are recommended as the best fertilization practice for fertilizer use efficiency, enhancement of soil fertility status in the continuous rice cropping system in Korea.

Understanding of a Korean Standard for the Analysis of Hexavalent Chromium in Soils and Interpretation of their Results

A new Korean standard for the determination of Cr(VI) in soils has been officially published as ES 07408.1 in 2009. This analytical method is based on the hot alkaline digestion and colorimetric detection prescribed by U.S. EPA method 3060A and 7196A. The hot alkaline digestion accomplished using 0.28 M and 0.5 M NaOH solution (pH 13.4) at determines total Cr(VI) in soils extracting all forms of Cr(VI), including water-soluble, adsorbed, precipitated, and mineral-bound chromates. This aggressive alkaline digestion, however, proved to be problematic for certain soils which contain large amounts of soluble humic substances or active manganese oxides. Cr(III) could be oxidized to Cr(VI) by manganese oxides during the strong alkaline extraction, resulting in overestimation (positive error) of Cr(VI). In contrast, Cr(VI) reduction by dissolved humic matter or Fe(II) could occur during the neutralization and acidic colorimetric detection procedure, resulting in underestimation (negative error) of Cr(VI). Futhermore, dissolved humic matter hampered the colorimetric detection of Cr(VI) using UV/Vis spectrophotometer due to the strong coloration of the filtrate, resulting in overestimation (positive error) of Cr(VI). Without understanding the mechanisms of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) transformation during the analysis it could be difficult to operate the experiment in laboratory and to evaluate the Cr(VI) results. For this reason, in this paper we described the theoretical principles and limitations of Cr(VI) analysis and provided useful guidelines for laboratory work and Cr(VI) data analysis.

Long-term Application Effects of Fertilizers and Amendments on Changes of Soil Organic Carbon in Paddy Soil

The changes of soil organic carbon (SOC) content in paddy soils (sandy loam) were assessed from data of the 59 years fertilization plots in which the continuous rice cropping experiment started in 1954. The treatments were no fertilization(no fert.), NPK fertilization (N, NPK), NPK plus rice straw compost (NPK+C), and NPK plus rice straw compost, silicate fertilizer and lime (NPK+CLS). After 41 years, SOC content in NPK+C and NPK+CLS treatment in surface soils (0~15 cm) reached at the highest, followed by maintaining a plateau level for 8 years. After 51 years, they showed a tendency to decrease. Peak concentrations of soil organic carbon were in NPK+CLS, in NPK+C, in NPK, in N, and in control. Dissolved organic carbon(DOC) contents in surface soil solution were about 2.3 times higher in NPK+C than that in NPK+CLS. Therefore, SOC in subsurface soil(15~30 cm) was greater in NPK+C than the other treatments. These results indicate that continuous application of rice straw compost and silicate fertilizer affected significantly on the level of SOC in surface soils, subsurface soils, and soil solutions. Thus, the combined applications of NPK fertilizers with organic compost and silicate as a soil amendment are recommended as the best fertilization practice for soil carbon accumulation, environment conservation, and enhancement of soil fertility status in the continuous rice cropping system.

Determination of Exchangeable Cations in Soils Affected by Different Types of Salt Accumulation

Exchangeable cations are often overestimated especially in salt-affected soils due to the presence of high levels of soluble ions in soil solution. Thus, quantitative analysis of the soil exchangeable cation based on ammonium acetate extraction method {(Exch. Cation)total} requires additional process to remove the free ions (pre-washing) in soil with distilled water or alcohol {(Exch. Cation)pw} or subtraction of the soluble ion contents from the total exchangeable cations {(Exch. Cation)ref}. In this research, we compared the three different methods for the determination of exchangeable cations in soils affected by different types of salt accumulation such as the soils from upland, plastic film house, and reclaimed tidal land. In upland soils, non-saline and non-sodic soils, the regular ammonium acetate extraction method did not have any problem to determine the content of exchangeable cations without any additional process such as the pre-washing method or the subtraction method. However, the contents of exchangeable cations in the salt-affected soils might be determined better with the pre-washing method for the plastic film house soils and with the subtraction method for the reclaimed tidal land soils containing high Na.

Composting of Pig Manure Affected by Mixed Ratio of Sawdust and Rice Hull

A bulking agent is an essential material for composting of high-moisture livestock manure such as pig slurry. Sawdust has been used as the most popular bulking agent but resources are limited in Korea. In this study, the feasibility of rice hull as a bulking agent was examined for composting of solid pig manure. The solid pig manure was mixed with 15% sawdust (PM+SD15), 15% rice hull (PM+RH15), 10% sawdust and 5% rice hull (PM+SD10+RH5), and 5% sawdust and 10% rice hull (PM+SD5+RH10) based on fresh weight. These mixtures were composted for 35 days. The average temperature of the composting file for 35 days was higher in PM+SD10+RH5 and PM+SD5+RH10 than in PM+SD15 and PM+RH15. The mass loss of PM+SD10+RH5 and PM+SD5+RH10 were 36.7 and 36.4%, respectively, which were higher than that of PM+SD15 and PM+RH15. After composting, organic matter content and organic matter/nitrogen ratio in all treatments met the official standards of commercial fertilizers. We concluded that rice hull may be a good bulking agent for pig manure composting when it is used in mixture with sawdust.

Estimation of Nitrogen Optimum Level for Rice Planting after Italian Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) Cultivation

To establish the optimum nitrogen level for rice planting after Italian ryegrass cultivation, one experiment was conducted on a normal paddy soil (Jeonbug series soil taxonomy) with six different nitrogen treatments for two years from 2009 to 2010. The treatments were including no nitrogen fertilization (Free N), 50%-Basal N, 75%-Basal N, 100%-Basal N, 150%-Basal N and 100% of basal fertilization with (100%+N30-Basal N) for decomposing of Italian ryegrass stubble. The highest rice yields were 8,420 obtained by 100%-Basal N. 150%-Basal N and 100%+N30-Basal N produced a rice yield of . Those of 50%-Basal N and Free N were produced 8,020 and , respectively. The correlation between rice yield and nitrogen treatment showed a quadratic relationship in high significant. According to this regression, the highest level of nitrogen treatment was and the highest rice yield was . Nitrogen uptake rates were relatively higher with lower amounts of nitrogen fertilizer treated.