Abstract
Organic farming has rapidly increased in Gangwon province, but there is a concern about nutrient accumulation and nutrient imbalance in the soil of organic farming. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of continuous application of organic amendments on growth and yield of red pepper and soil characteristics compared with chemical fertilizers application for four years. Treatments of organic amendments including oil cake, rice straw compost, amino acid compost, rice bran compost, and mushroom media (spent substrate) compost resulted in comparable growth and yield of pepper to chemical fertilizers. Organic amendments improved soil physical and chemical characteristics. Especially, rice bran compost and oil cake significantly increased soil organic matter compared with chemical fertilizer application and mushroom media compost and rice straw compost significantly improved soil aggregate stability. On the other hand, available phosphate level in the soil amended with rice bran compost or mushroom media compost was relatively high compared with the other treatments due to relatively high phosphate levels in the composts. It is not easy to adjust nutrient composition in the organic materials. Therefore, the results obtained from the study imply that nutrient imbalance needs to be carefully considered in organic farming without use of chemical fertilizers.