For appropriate nutrient management and enhanced plant growth, soil sensors which reflect soil nutrient levels are required. Because there is no available sensor for nutrient monitoring, electrical conductivity (EC) sensor can be used to evaluate soil nutrient levels. Soil nutrient management using EC sensors would be possible by understanding the relationship between sensor EC values and soil temperature, moisture, and nutrient content. However, the relationship between soil sensor EC values and plant available nutrients was not investigated. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to evaluate effect of different amount of urea on soil EC monitored by sensors during pepper and broccoli cultivation and to predict the plant available nutrient contents in soil. During the cultivation period, soil was collected periodically for analyzing pH and EC, and the available nutrient contents. The sensor EC value increased as the moisture content increased, and low fertilizer treated soil showed the lowest EC value. Principal component analysis was performed to determine the relationship between sensor EC and available nutrients in soil. Sensor EC showed a strong positive correlation with nitrate nitrogen and available Ca. In addition, sum of available nutrients such as Ca, Mg, K, P, S and N was positively related to the sensor EC values. Therefore, EC sensors in open field can be used to predict plant available nutrient levels for proper management of the soil.

This study was conducted to determine the optimal dipping time and concentration of gibberellin for improving the growth and quality of domestic cultivar 'Seolhyang' strawberry when using runner plants. Strawberry runner plants were collected on November 10th and soaked in GA3 concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 mg·L-1 for 30 and 60 minutes, respectively. After 75 days of planting, the growth results showed that in the 30-minute, 50 mg·L-1 treatment, the crown diameter was thicker and the T/R ratio was lower, indicating better plant vitality. Runner length increased with lower gibberellin concentrations, particularly promoting vegetative growth. Photosynthetic efficiency was more influenced by gibberellin concentration than dipping time, and using concentrations above a certain threshold acted as a stress factor for runner plants, leading to decreased photosynthetic efficiency. For enhancing seedling growth, soaking with 50 mg·L-1 of gibberellin for 30 minutes was found to be optimal. This study verified the effects of gibberellin treatment on strawberry runner plants to improve plant growth and quality, providing useful basic data for using gibberellin.

Recently, a closed-type plant factory has been receiving attention as a advanced agricultural method. It has diverse advantages such as climate-independence, high productivity and stable year-round production. However, high energy cost caused by environmental control system is considered as a challenges of a closed-type plant factory. In order to reduce the energy cost, investigation about energy load which is directly connected to energy consumption needs to be conducted. In this study, energy load changes of a plant factory have been analytically analyzed according to the environmental changes. The target plant factory was a lettuce growing container farm. Firstly, the impact of photoperiod, set temperature and relative humidity change were examined. Under the climate condition of Daejeon in South Korea, increase of photoperiod and set temperature rose a yearly energy demand of a container farm. However, increase of set relative humidity decreased a yearly energy demand. Secondly, the climate environment effect was compared by investigating the energy demand under 9 different climate conditions. As a result, the difference between maximum and minimum value of the yearly energy demand showed 21.7%. Lastly, sensitivity analysis of each parameter (photoperiod, set temperature and relative humidity) has been suggested under 3 different climate conditions. The ratio of heating and cooling demand was varied depending on the climate, so the effect of each parameter became different.

Fouling is an inevitable problem in membrane water treatment plant. It can be measured by trans-membrane pressure (TMP) in the constant flux operation, and chemical cleaning is carried out when TMP reaches a critical value. An early fouilng alarm is defined as warning the critical TMP value appearance in advance. The alarming method was developed using one of machine learning algorithms, decision tree, and applied to a ceramic microfiltration (MF) pilot plant. First, the decision tree model that classifies the normal/abnormal state of the filtration cycle of the ceramic MF pilot plant was developed and it was then used to make the early fouling alarm method. The accuracy of the classification model was up to 96.2% and the time for the early warning was when abnormal cycles occurred three times in a row. The early fouling alram can expect reaching a limit TMP in advance (e.g., 15-174 hours). By adopting TMP increasing rate and backwash efficiency as machine learning variables, the model accuracy and the reliability of the early fouling alarm method were increased, respectively.

This study was conducted to investigate the growth characteristics of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. ‘Joeunbaekdadagi’) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. ‘Dotaerang Dia’) seedlings by light intensities and CO2 concentrations in a closed-type plant production system (CPPS). Cucumber and tomato seeds were sown in 50-cell trays and germinated in CPPS at air temperature 25 ± 1°C and relative humidity 50 ± 10% for 4 days. After germination, the CO2 concentrations and light intensity treatment were treated at 500 (ambient), 1,000, and 1,500 μmol·mol-1 and 100, 200, and 300 μmol·m-2·s-1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), respectively. The leaf area of cucumber showed the highest value in CO2 1,500 μmol·mol-1. However, the leaf area of the tomato had no significant difference in CO2 concentrations and light intensities treatments. In cucumber and tomato both seedlings, the growth and quality such as compactness and leaf area rate were increased with the increase of light intensity, and there were highest in 300 μmol·m-2·s-1. The root surface and number of root tips of cucumber and tomato seedlings were significantly increased with the increase in light intensity. In conclusion, the regulation of the CO2 concentrations and light intensity can control the growth and quality of cucumber and tomato seedlings in CPPS, especially, increasing the light intensity can improve more significantly the growth and quality of seedlings.

In this study, in order to develop a method to efficiently inject essential nutrients necessary for plant growth into wood chips, which are simply used as soil covering materials in the agriculture, landscaping and horticultural industries, the atmospheric pressure dipping method and the vacuum pressure impregnating method are used to improve the plant nutrients injectability and impregnation amount were comparatively analyzed. Nutrient ingredients and 8 major heavy metal contents of wood chips injected with nutrients were analyzed, and soil covering effects were examined by covering wood chips injected with nutrients on soil. Comparing the dipping method and the vacuum pressure impregnation method, it took about 48 hours or more to inject 1,500 g or more of the nutrient aqueous solution into 1 kg of wood chips in the dipping method, but the vacuum pressure impregnation method could be impregnated in about 5 minutes. Components of the impregnated nutrients were detected in proportion to the diluted concentration. As a result of covering the wood chips developed in this study on soil, they showed weakly acidic pH, and the heat insulation and moisturizing effects during the winter season were evaluated to be superior to those of uncovered soil. In the future, wood chips impregnated with nutrients are expected to contribute to the more efficient use of waste wood resources and the long-term supply of nutrients essential for plant growth, reducing excessive use of chemical fertilizers and reducing costs.

In the global manufacturing industry, digital transformation is emerging as an important issue for companies to improve productivity and strengthen industrial competitiveness. The government and shipbuilding companies drive research and development to attain advanced technologies through digital transformation for shipbuilding & offshore plants, one of Korea's representative manufacturing industries. Therefore, the digital transformation of the shipbuilding & offshore plant industry was defined using an input-output analysis model, and the economic interrelationships of industries linked to the digital transformation of the shipbuilding & offshore plant industry were analyzed. According to the analysis, the shipbuilding & offshore plant industry ranks second among all 34 industries regarding the forward linkage effect. The backward linkage effect was ranked 27th, making it a mid-demand industry with a robust forward linkage effect. In addition, the production-induced effect was 0.455, the value-added-induced effect was 0.174, and the employment-induced effect was 1.779 people per billion won. The contribution of this study is that it will provide the basis for establishing policies necessary to strengthen the competitiveness of the shipbuilding & offshore plant industry. Also, it will help analyze the economic effects of digital transformation in other manufacturing industries.

We analyzed trend of plants (40 items) on imported seedlings using the Pest Information System (PIS) for the past 20 years. 530 species (9 order 336 genus) were found among 40 items on imported seedlings including Rosaceae, Arecaceae, Crassulaceae, and Fabaceae. Hemiptera were the most expected to be detected pest as 52%, followed by Coleoptera as 16%, Lepidoptera as 11%, and Diptera as 8% in potential detection rate. For prohibited pests, Tephritidae are the most common pests as 86% in approximately 60 prohibited species, including Bactrocera dorsalis, and Bactrocera tryoni in Diptera and Cydia pomonella in Lepidoptera.

Insects, including aphids, caterpillars, and beetles, have a significant impact on biodiversity, ecology, and the economy by consuming various plant tissues like leaves, stems, and fruits, leading to issues such as holes, defoliation, and impaired growth. Consequently, our study's primary goal was to establish a model system capable of identifying and tracking insects, covering aspects like their behaviors, movements, sizes, and patterns. Our research has successfully produced a 3D monitoring system specifically designed for continuous insect tracking by applying it to brown planthopper. This technology allows for in-depth exploration of insect behaviors and their interactions with plants and crops. The potential applications of this technique are highly promising, offering valuable assistance to researchers in unraveling insect behavior and ecological dynamics and driving further advancements in these crucial research areas.

2022년 캠벨얼리 재배면적은 4,397ha(32.7%)으로 샤인머스켓에 이어 두 번째로 많이 재배하는 품종이다. 포도 과원에서 보고된 장님노린재에는 애무늬고리장님노린재와 초록장님노린재가 있으며, 포도 신초를 가해해 잎 이 자라면서 구멍이 나고, 포도알을 흡즙해 포도알 표피를 코르크화해 상품성을 떨어뜨린다. 애무늬고리장님노 린재는 약충은 3~4mm, 성충은 4~5mm 정도이며, 몸 색깔은 엷은 녹색을 띄고, 다리(설상부) 끝이 검어 초록장님노 린재와 구분된다. 조사지점에서는 애무늬고리장님노린재만 채집되었으며, 나무당 0~4.8마리가 발견되었다. 4월 하순 상대습도 40% 이상이고, 일평균기온이 13℃ 이상 10일 정도 경과하였을 때 알에서 부화해 신초를 가해 하기 시작했다. 5월 하순부터 성충이 되며, 포도원 살충제 살포로 인해 개체수가 감소하였다가 7월 초경에 초목성 식물에서 포도원으로 들어와 새로 나오는 포도 부초를 가해하였다. 방제시기에 따라 상품과일 무게가 차이가 났는데 잎전개기, 꽃송이분리기, 착과기 3회 방제시 수량감소율이 1%인데 비해 잎전개기에만 방제시 3.5%, 꽃송 이분리기에만 방제시 7.9%, 무처리구에서는 15.6%로 방제 시기에 따라 상품과일 감소량이 차이나는 것을 알 수 있었다.

One of cosmopolitan pest, Agrotis ipsilon, causes serious economic damages in horticultural crops. This study compared the host fitness of A. ipsilon among nine major horticultural crops in Korea. Among the nine crops, the population of A. ipsilon failed to complete its development in spinach, cucumber, melon, and kidney bean. The host effects on development and reproduction of A. ipsilon were further investigated in the remained five crops. Host plants significantly (P < 0.05) affected the development-related factors of A. ipsilon eggs, larvae, and pupae. They also affected the adult reproduction-related factors including preoviposition period, oviposition period and number, and longevity except for the prepupa stage. A positive relationship was found be tween biological factors. Among the nine crops in this study, napa cabbage showed the highest suitability for the A. ipsilon populations. These findings in this study would be helpful to understand the ecology and develop the man agement tactics of A. ipsilon in horticultural crops.

This study aimed to develop a new eco-friendly control method of B. tabaci using a trap plant treated with systemic insecticide. Due to high preference, tobacco plant was selected as a trap plant among solanaceous plants. Out of all 6 systemic insecticides, dinotefuran WG showed the highest mortality (> 97.3 %) against B. tabaci. The concentrations of dinotefuran in tobacco leaves after systemic treatment showed the sharp increase in the pesticide from 2 hrs until 48 hrs (2 d) and steady increase over 35 d. The mortality of B. tabaci in tobacco leaves was about 80% at 9 hrs after treatment and over 90% at 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 35 d after treatment. The number of B. tabaci was counted every week after dinotefuran-treated tobacco pots were placed in the tomato greenhouse cultivation. The density of the insects with 3 tobacco plants was app. 75% lower than the control (w/o tobacco plant).

During the larval development process of insects, juvenile hormone (JH) is essential for regulating various aspects of larval life, including growth, reproduction, and behavior, throughout their larval stage. The larval stage of Spodoptera frugiperda, when it consumes plant-derived metabolites, develops into pupae, but these pupae are unable to molt successfully. In this way, plant-derived metabolites contain or produce inhibitors of juvenile hormone, thereby disrupting the development of insect larvae and making them vulnerable to harm. Therefore, in this study, we established an in vitro screening system using yeast cells transformed with the Met-SRC juvenile hormone receptor of S. frugiperda. Through this system, we were able to identify juvenile hormone disruptors from plant-derived metabolites and confirm their developmental inhibitory effects on the larvae of S. frugiperda.

담배거세미나방(Spodoptera litura), 열대거세미나방(Spodoptera frugiperda) 및 파밤나방(Spodoptera exigua) 은 광식성 해충이지만, 종특이적인 기주범위를 갖는다. 이들이 기주식물을 찾아가는 과정에 냄새감각이 어떤 역할을 하는지 알아보기 위해, 기주 및 비기주 식물에서 발산되는 46가지 휘발성 물질을 선정하여, 이들에 대한 나방 3종의 냄새반응을 GC-EAD(gas chromatography-electroantennogram detection)를 통해 확인하였다. 그 결과, 46가지의 식물유래화합물 중 9가지 물질이 3종의 나방 모두에서 냄새활성을 나타냈으며, 2가지 물질은 담배거세 미나방과 열대거세미나방에만 냄새활성을 나타냈고, 다른 몇 가지 물질은 담배거세미나방에만 냄새활성을 나 타냈다. 이 결과는 세 종 나방이 식물냄새물질 탐지를 위해 유사한 냄새감각세포를 가지며, 일부 종에서는 종특이 적인 냄새감각세포가 존재한다는 것을 보여준다. 이 결과를 바탕으로 냄새활성을 나타낸 물질들의 나방 3종에 대한 행동활성을 야외트랩실험을 통해 확인할 예정이다.

The cucumber flower does’t seem to be supplying enough nectar and pollen to the natural enemies. Among the natural enemies that can be used in the cucumber greenhouse, especially Orius laevigatus may require flower nectar and pollen for settlement and reproduction. In our previous study, we selected basil as a natural enemy banker plant. Using this, the effect of thrips control in cucumber greenhouse was examined. The major pests of cucumber in 2023 were Aphis gossypii, Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips palmi and Trialeurodes vaporariorum. A. gossypii occurred most frequently, and the next occurred pests were F. occidentalis and T. palmi. The densities of O. laevigatus remained stable on basil banker plants. After releasing O. laevigatus and adding the basil banker plants, the densities of T. palmi were kept low at less than 3 per leaf, and the densities of F. occidentalis were kept low at less than 10 per 3 flowers but increased slightly since late May. As a result, the density of thrips during cucumber cultivation was effectively suppressed after the use of natural enemies.

Since the importance of integrated pest management to minimize environmental damage and maximize pest control effectiveness has emerged, efforts to put it into practice have continued. To implement IPM, it is necessary to estimate the economic injury level to determine the control method by identifying pests and weeds that damage the quantity and quality of crops in the field, investigating the occurrence level, and calculating the ratio of cost and effectiveness. Also, damage to host plants caused by increased density of insect pests appears to change plant’s health that key factor for managing crops. Therefore, understanding the relationship between the density of pests and the damage to the host plants is necessary. This study aims to analyze the causal relationship between the density of insect pests and damage to the host plants for estimating the economic injury level of insect pests on the host plants and investigating the possibility of pest control decision-making using plant health status.

Glyphosate, a worldwide most used herbicides, can have complex implications for terrestrial ecosystems, extending beyond its intended target, weed control. This study investigated the cascading effects of glyphosate application on both plant and collembolan communities. Our findings reveal that glyphosate application can reduce the richness of plant communities, and these effects can be pronounced in areas with low initial plant diversity. Furthermore, our results confirm that the fluctuations in plant community composition induced by glyphosate application can also impact the richness of collembolan communities. This research highlights the importance of considering both plant and invertebrate communities when assessing the impacts of herbicide use in agroecosystems.

본 연구에서는 영종도에 위치한 인천과학고등학교 주변에 서식하는 개미와 개미집 근권토양을 두 차례에 걸쳐 채취한 것을 활용하여 토양미생물 순수분리 및 동정을 진행하였다. 채취된 개미의 더듬이의 모양, 털의 위치 및 분포 등의 형태학적 동정 및 DNA extraction을 통한 분자생물학적 동정을 통하여 채취한 개미를 Camponotus japonicus으로 결론하였다. 토양미생물을 연속희석법을 이용하여 확인한 결과 채취한 개미집 세 곳에서 각각 12, 18, 10개의 종이 동정되었다. 개미집 근권토양의 비옥도가 상대적으로 높다는 선행연구를 바탕 으로 ‘분리한 토양미생물이 다양한 유기물 분해 효소활성을 보일 것’이라는 가설을 세웠고, 이를 확인하기 위해 분별배지를 제작하여 디스크 확산법을 진행하였다. 실험 결과 개미집 근권 토양에서 분리된 균주가 일반 토양에 서 분리된 균주에 비해 높은 효소활성을 보임을 확인하였으며 개미집 근권 토양 미생물의 불용성인산 가용화능 이 우수함을 확인하였다. 이후 위 실험들을 바탕으로 개미집 근권 토양 미생물이 식물 생장을 촉진시켜 미생물을 접종한 토양에서의 식물의 건조 질량이 증가하였음을 확인하였다.