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2025 Vol.58, Issue 4 Preview Page

Short communication

Changes in fertilizer type and use patterns for major food crops cultivation between 2019 and 2023 in South Korea
Yu-Na Lee1
,
Sin-Sil Kim2
,
Kyeong-yeong Kim3
,
Jae-Hong Shim3
,
Sang-Ho Jeon3
,
Ahn-Sung Roh4
,
Soon-Ik Kwon4
,
Seong-Heon Kim3*
1Postmaster Researcher, Division of Soil and Fertilizer, National Institute of Agricultural Science, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
2Doctoral Student, Division of Soil and Fertilizer, National Institute of Agricultural Science, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
3Researcher, Division of Soil and Fertilizer, National Institute of Agricultural Science, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
4Senior Researcher, Division of Soil and Fertilizer, National Institute of Agricultural Science, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
*Corresponding Author
30 November 2025. pp. 626-632
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Abstract

Korea is one of countries that have high application rate of organic fertilizer and is known to cause significant environments issues. The use of inorganic fertilizer has led to a nutrient supply that exceeds the nutrient requirements of crops, resulting in an excess of nutrients in agricultural soil. Hence, many agricultural policies have been legislated to reduce the fertilizer application rate since 1990s. This study aims to investigate fertilizer type and usage on food crops (rice, barley, bean, potato, sweet potato, corn) in 9 provinces in 2019 and 2023. The average of total fertilizer inputs (N-P2O5-K2O) showed a slight decrease in both inorganic and organic fertilizers in 2023 compared to 2019, while compost increased. In terms of N, the total fertilizer usage was highest for potato (37.0 kg 10a-1) in 2019 and for corn (37.7 kg 10a-1) in 2023. Moreover, the fertilizer usage for all crops exceeded the recommended levels. As a result, a primary concern is the excessive use of fertilizers, with a focus on compost. Because of the high nutrient content of compost, the application rate of compost should be controlled and monitored. Therefore, the proper training and monitoring are required to promote proper nutrient management of fertilizer in food crops cultivation.

Distribution of gross nutrient input by inorganic fertilizer, organic fertilizer and compost in major food crops.
Keywords
Compost
Food crops
Inorganic fertilizer
Organic fertilizer
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국토양비료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국토양비료학회 학회지
  • Volume : 58
  • No :4
  • Pages :626-632
  • Received Date : 2025-09-15
  • Revised Date : 2025-10-16
  • Accepted Date : 2025-10-23
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7745/KJSSF.2025.58.4.626
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