Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer ISSN:0367-6315(Print) 2288-2162(Online) 한국토양비료학회 학회지

Illite, a 2:1 clay mineral of silica-alumina-silica layer, includes high potassium (K) content. Despite of being used as a material in various industries including agriculture, the relatively insufficient physico-chemical properties such as relatively low cation exchangeable capacity (CEC) limit its usage in agricultural practices. The aim of this study is to investigate effects of illite-containing prototypes on soil and tomato growth. To achieve these goals, we made two types of illite-containing prototype; prototype-A (illite- and microbes-containing product for soil amendment), and prototype-B (illite- and NPK-containing product for plant growth promotion). Four weeks-old tomato seedlings were transplanted into soils after 5 days of different treatments. At 60 days after treatment, soil and plant were harvested from each treatment, and used for further analysis. A prototype-A for soil amendment showed enhanced EC and exchangeable K (p < 0.05), and, interestingly, lowered soil pH. A prototype-B for plant growth promotion increased significantly photosynthesis, thereby enhancing growth rate (dry weight) and nutrient uptake (p < 0.05). Additionally, a prototype-B affected positively the levels of antioxidant activities in the leaves and fruits (p < 0.05). In this context, our observations suggest that illite-containing products could be possible for agricultural use, and, despite the findings, further study is strongly required to validate the effects of illite-containing products such as prototype-A and -B, and to find out unknown effects.

Application effect of illite-containing prototype on soil chemical properties and tomato growth.