Original research article
Soil electrical conductivity (EC) is widely used as an indirect indicator of salt accumulation. On-site diagnosis is a practical method for assessing soil conditions in real-time during crop cultivation. However, greenhouse soils often exhibit EC levels exceeding the standard osmotic stress threshold of 2 dS m-1 (On-site diagnosis standard), leading to frequent high-stress diagnoses that do not account for crop-specific salt tolerance. This study aimed to refine on-site diagnostic accuracy by evaluating early growth responses of tomatoes, a moderately salt-tolerant crop, across various EC levels. A 35-day cultivation experiment was conducted using soil with 4% organic matter, representative of greenhouse conditions. On-site diagnosis soil EC was adjusted from 1 to 20 dS m-1 in seven increments using KNO3. Increased KNO3 levels reduced soil-soluble phosphate, leading to a decrease in plant phosphorus content above EC 15 dS m-1. Growth analysis revealed that plant height, fresh weight, and dry weight significantly declined when EC exceeded 5 dS m-1, with growth at EC levels above 15 dS m-1 dropping to less than 10% of the 2.5 dS m-1 treatment group. Based on soil and plant analyses, the optimal EC threshold for early tomato growth in soils with 43 g kg-1 organic matter was determined to be below 5 dS m-1. Therefore, in soils with EC exceeding 5 dS m-1, young tomato cultivation should be avoided unless appropriate salt management strategies are implemented.
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- 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 :1
- Pages :38-46
- Received Date : 2024-11-06
- Revised Date : 2025-02-15
- Accepted Date : 2025-02-19
- DOI :https://doi.org/10.7745/KJSSF.2025.58.1.038
Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
