(Suwon=Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Chan-heung = Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services announced on the 1st that it has established a 'Soil Microbial Database for Agricultural Land.'
Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services analyzed soil samples collected from 134 major agricultural lands, including upland fields, orchards, paddy fields, and protected cultivation sites, over a five-year period from 2021 to this year. The analysis confirmed the total amount of microorganisms, species richness, diversity index, presence of pathogenic bacteria, enzyme activity, and other factors.
In the case of upland soil, the total amount of microorganisms was 2.4 μg/g on average, higher than the national average of 2.0 μg/g, and the bacterial diversity index was 6.8 μg/g, exceeding the national average of 6.5 μg/g.
Orchard soil also showed high microbial diversity, with a bacterial diversity index of 6.9 μg/g, surpassing the national average of 6.6 μg/g.
In contrast, the bacterial diversity index of paddy soil was 6.4 μg/g, lower than the national average of 6.8 μg/g, and some sites detected genetic traces of major pathogenic bacteria such as rice sheath blight and rice blast, indicating the need for continuous management.
The bacterial diversity index (6.0 μg/g) and fungal diversity index (3.4 μg/g) of protected cultivation soil were similar to the national average.
An official from Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services said, "This database construction is significant as it secured baseline values for biological-based soil health assessment" and "We hope that the accumulated soil microbial data will also help in formulating agricultural environmental conservation measures."
The results of the soil microbial analysis can be found in the 'Data Room - Result Utilization' corner of the Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services website (nongup.gg.go.kr).
chan@yna.co.kr