Soil Quality Testing and Counseling Coastal Agricultural Communities in Taiwan

Abstract

The Mailiao Town is a traditional agricultural community, located in the south-central region of Taiwan. In this region, the northeast monsoon is entrained with salt for seven months a year. Soil fertility test results between 2011 and 2021 showed that the tillage soil was alkaline and salinized. The content of total nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium in the soil were mostly excessive. In the region, open-air continuous farming with heavy fertilizer has been performed. Based on the 10 years of data from the test of soil fertility, we counseled farmers to understand the significance of the values in the reports and the impact on crop growth. We promoted rational fertilization with a series of agricultural counseling actions. The results of the continuous counseling showed that the dependence on nitrogenous fertilizer gradually decreased with the continuous increase of the application of organic fertilizers. The total nitrogen and exchangeable sodium content in soil decreased significantly, and the carbon-nitrogen ratio (C/N) increased every year. The soil environment became close to equilibrium gradually. As a result, the yield and quality of local crops have gradually improved.