본 연구는 화학적심제 dikegulac의 처리시기와 농도 가 Rhododendron simsii ‘California Sunset’의 분지 및 생육에 미치는 영향을 알아보고자 수행하였다. 6월에 dikegulac의 처리는 8월에 처리한것 보다 식물의 정아 발달을 지연시켰으나, 잎의 크기와 엽록소의 함량 및 분지수를 증가 시켰다. 특히, 1,500 mg·L−1의 처리가 가장 우수하였다.
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of treatment time and concentration of a chemical pinching agent, dikegulac, on branches and growth of Rhododendron simsii ‘California Sunset’. R. simsii ‘California Sunset’ developed lateral branches naturally but the number of them was few. Treatment of dikegulac delayed the terminal bud development, increased in size, the chlorophyll contents of the leaf, and the number of lateral branches in June. Especially, the number of lateral branches were better at 1,500 mg·L−1 dikegulac than the others. But growth in August of R. simsii ‘California Sunset’ was naturally lower than June, there was no effect of lateral branches by dikegulac.