Four different green manure crops, hairy vetch, Italian ryegrass, crimson clover, orchard grass were cultivated to test the differences in their effects on soil improvement. After plowing to incorporate the green manure crops, tomato plants were grown as a succeeding crop to investigate the effects of green manure on the soil physical properties and plant growths. The experimental results showed that green manure could decrease the soil hardness. Italian ryegrass and hairy vetch as the green

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... ure were especially effective in decreasing the soil hardness. Orchard grass and Italian ryegrass provided more void in soil matrix, resulting increased soil moisture contents. After two months, bulk density was decreased in the plots of Italian ryegrass and orchard grass. However, there were no significant differences between green manure plots and control after the cultivation of the succeeding crop. The results indicated that the growing Italian ryegrass and hairy vetch as green manure helped growing tomato plants. Orchard grass also improved the soil characteristics, comparable to Italian ryegrass in spite of their relatively small biomass.