Optimum Soil Incorporation Time of Chinese Milk Vetch(Astragalus sinicus L) for its Natural Re-seeding and Green Manuring of Rice in Gyeongnam Province, Korea

To develop a natural re-seeding technology, the optimum soil incorporation time of Chinese milk vetch(CMV) plant residues, seed persistence in soil, biomass production and subsequent rice yield were determined from 2005 to 2007 in rice with CMV green manure in southern Korea. Generally, insufficient seedling stand was regenerated with CMV incorporation to the soil at 20 and 25 days after flowering(DAF), while high regeneration of greater than 400 seedlings per $m^2$ was observed at 35 and 40 DAF. High re-seeding stand of CMV incorporated at 35 DAF or later was related with high seed viability and heavy seed weight. Appreciable number of CMV seeds remained 4 month after burial in soil and a good number of CMV seedlings regenerated from this seed bank at rice harvest time in the fall. Based on the relationships among re-seeding number of CMV plants, seed weight and seed viability, CMV plants should be incorporated into the soil 35 DAF(May 30) or later when CMV seeds were sufficiently matured. The natural re-seeding stand for the 3-year trials was stable ranging from 437 to 700 plants per $m^2$ and the biomass production was sufficient to supply nitrogen for rice growth. The use of re-seeding CMV plant can produce similar rice yield like that of rice without CMV green manure.