Effect of phyllite application as a soil amendment on soil chemical properties and crop growth

Clay minerals can be used as soil amendment to improve the physicochemical properties and increase the surface area and nutrient retention capacity of agricultural soil, thereby enhancing crop productivity.Clay minerals vary in surface area, particle size, and inorganic content depending on their type.This study was conducted to investigate the correlation of changes in soil chemical properties, crop growth, and nutrient uptake with the amount of clay mineral phyllite applied.For this, a greenhouse pot experiment, using lettuce and Kimchi cabbage as the target crops, was performed.The treatment groups were P0 (control, not treated with phyllite) and P10, P20, P30, and P40 (treated with 10, 20, 30, and 40 Mg ha -1 of phyllite).All the groups were treated with N-P 2 O 5 -K 2 O corresponding to the standard fertilizer amount for each crop.Post-harvest soil analyses indicated that soil pH in the P10, P20, P30, and P40 treatments increased by 1.8%, 8.0%, 10.5%, and 14.1% respectively, relative to the untreated control.Exchangeable Ca increased by 11.4%, 11.4%, 24.5%, and 43.1%, respectively, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) showed corresponding increases of 6.2%, 1.0%, 2.2%, and 16.4% under the same treatments.Fresh weight of lettuce and Kimchi cabbage was 25.6 -85.3 g plant -1 and 112.6 -162.7 g plant -1 , respectively, and leaf length was 13.8 -20.3 cm plant -1 , and 24.4 -31.8 cm plant -1 , respectively.Crop growth consistently increased with increasing phyllite application, and the 20 Mg ha -1 treatment produced a statistically significant response.Regardless of the crop, nutrient uptake increased as the amount of phyllite treatment increased, and T-N, T-P, and K 2 O uptake increased in the ranges of 0.56 -125%, 13.4 -182%, and 18.4 -333%, respectively, compared to P0.Hence, phyllite, a clay mineral, is an effective organic material for agricultural land that can increase crop nutrient absorption and improve the physicochemical properties of soil.