Comparison of the Growth Characteristics and Ginsenoside Content of 4-Years-Old Ginseng Selected Lines
Background : Ginseng is a cold-adopting plant that likes cold climate. As the temperature of korea is increasing to the extent that makes it unsuitable for growing ginseng, there is a need arising for developing ginseng breed that can adapt to higher temperature. Out of 76 genetic lines of 4 years old ginseng owned by our research lab, 5 lines with good and high ginsenoside contents were selected. The test was performed to compare their ginsenoside contents and growth characteristics to the existing ones. Methods and Results : A study was done on the growth of 5 lines of ground part with high ginsenoside contents such as GS97-24-2. The results show that the growth of leaf length and width was best for GS98-4-5 and Geumsun. The root weight of the underground part was good, with the growth of 27.8g per ginseng. The root length did not vary across lines. Geumsun and GS97-24-2 showed the same total length. The growth of rootlet was best for GS98-4-5 lines, showing 5.4 rootlets. The total ginsenoside contents of the underground part was highest for American ginseng with 54.31mg/g, followed by GS98-4-5, GS97-24-2, and Geumsun. American ginseng was high in ginsenoside Re and Rb1 in contents compared to Korean ginseng. Although total ginsenoside contents were high, Rg2 and Rf were not detected in American ginseng while Korean ginseng contained good amount of Rg2 and Rf. Conclusion : Base on the results above, the best ground part among the high ginsenoside lines was GS98-4-5. For underground part, the growth of Americal ginseng and Gopoong were the best. American ginseng, which has good underground part growth even in hot season, contained high ginsenoside contents too. On the other hand, Korean ginseng had more variety of ginsenoside compared to American ginseng.