Analysis of Soil Nutrient Balance, Soil Enzymatic Activity and Growth Characteristics of Facility-grown Red Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) with Incorporation of Hairy Vetch>Analysis of Soil Nutrient Balance, Soil Enzymatic Activity and Growth Characteristics of Facility-grown Red Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) with Incorporation of Hairy Vetch

Abstract

Long-term use of chemical fertilizers will impair the physical and biological properties of facility soil environment for crop cultivation. The effective way to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and improve soil properties is known to utilize green manure crops. The objectives of this study were to investigate the growth characteristics and yields, to analyze the nutrient utilization efficiency, and to measure the effect of soil microbial activity through enzyme activity when incorporating hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) with facility-grown peppers (Capsicum annuum L.). Four different fertilizer treatments were applied: no fertilizer (CON), chemical fertilizer (CF), hairy vetch and 0.5N additional fertilizer (HV0.7N), and hairy vetch and N additional fertilizer (HVN). Soil and plant nutrient content, plant nutrient use efficiency, and soil enzyme activity were analyzed in each treatment. All fertilization treatments significantly increased total fresh weight and fruit dry weight of red pepper compared to the control (CON). However, total fresh weight, macronutrient uptake, and P and K use efficiency were significantly lower in the HV0.7N treatment than the CF and HVN treatments. The HV0.7N and HVN treatments significantly increased soil dehydrogenase activity during entire cultivation period. Whereas, urease and β-glucosidase activity were significantly increased only in the early stages of cultivation. These results suggest that the incorporation of hairy vetch residue as organic fertilizer in cultivation facility, can increase enzyme activity in the soil. Moreover, the yield of red pepper fruits was not small compared to that of CF treatment, even if only a lower amount of nitrogen was applied. Comparison of growth response of red pepper between chemical fertilizer and hairy vetch treatments, in which N input was equal.