Background : Codonopsis lanceolata is currently used as vegetable, as well as materials for traditional medicines. However, consumers have nagative views on using pesticides and chemical fertilizer in C. lanceolata cultivation. Therefore, this research was conducted to select the appropriate organic fertilizer to improve the growth and saponin components of C. lanceolata by some organic fertilizers application. Methods and Results : Organic fertilizers were applied as 4 types: mixed organic matter, fermentation cake, bacterial culture and rice husks, excluding conventional chemical fertilizer and non-treatment used as control. The result analyzed in soil after fertilizer application showed that soil pH was acidified in fermentation cake and chemical fertilizer treatment, especially, chemical fertilizer treatment showed very high phosphoric-acid content than other treatments, and total N content was higher in fermentation cake, mixed organic matter and chemical fertilizer. Growth of C. lanceolata showed superior tendency in the treatment of mixed organic matter and fermentation cake. Lancemacides could be identified as foetidissimoside A, lancemaside A, lancemaside B, and lancemaside D. However, among them, quantitative analysis could not be conducted on foetidissimoside A due to its very low content, and lancemaside A was the most abundant saponin in the root from all the treatments. The content of lancemaisde A according to organic fertilizer application showed the highest value in the treatment of mixed organic matter, followed by the fermentation cake, bacterial culture, non-treatment, rice husks and chemical fertilizer, in that order. The content of lancemaside B and D was very low compared to lancemaside A, and there was no difference among treatments. Conclusion : The growth of C. lanceolata was superior in application of mixed organic matter and fermentation cake, and the major saponin, lancemaside A, was also increased.

• Kyung Gon Mun(Department of Gyeongsang National University, Institute of Agriculture and Life Science) | 문경곤
• Min Ju Lee(Department of Gyeongsang National University, Institute of Agriculture and Life Science) | 이민주
• Young Guk Kim(Department of Herbal Crop Research, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA) | 김영국
• Yeong Son Cho(Department of Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology) | 조영손
• Il Rae Rho(Department of Gyeongsang National University, Institute of Agriculture and Life Science) | 노일래 Corresponding author