Background : Fruit picking is the most labor consuming procedure for Boxthorn (Lycium chinense Mill.) growers. Recently fruit harvesters were invented and improved in the efficiency to fulfill the expectation of farmers through field demonstration tests. Additionally, T-type hedge cultivation method harmonized well with fruit picking machine, but it also needed to be improved in its’ pruning methods for the efficiency of fruit collecting procedure. Methods and Results : In this experiment, ‘Cheong-un’ cultivar and local variety were grown in the rain shelter greenhouses for the tests. Plots were set by randomized block design. There were two types of previously developed harvesters. One vibrates it’s harvest rod right and left (A type) and the other shakes it’s rod back and forth (B type). Among two harvesters A type was superior to B type in efficiency and convenience in use and it was able to harvest eleven times more fruits than manual picking in simple comparison test. In field comparison test, A type harvester performed 4.6 to 5 times more fruits than manual fruit picking. T-type hedge cultivation method is the proper way of enhancing efficiency of harvester. In the test, wiry perpendicular branches formed by once pruning method hindered moving forward of fruit collector. However installing collecting net with velcro along the edge under the field increased the efficiency and handiness of fruit harvester and well harmonized with T-type hedge cultivation. Conclusion : From the above results, the newly developed fruit harvester could increase the annual income of Boxthorn growers by reducing fruit picking labor and time.

Background : Boxthorn has been cultivated by conventional fertilization and irrigation methods that can be characterized by applying a great deal of fertilizers and a small amount of water compared to the other crops. With increasing rain shelter greenhouses, there were significant needs for developing new fertigation and irrigation methods. In this study, several prescribed fertigation methods for balanced fertilizer application and a few irrigation start methods based on soil moisture tension has been tested to confirm the fruit quality and productivity for Boxthorn growers. Methods and Results : In the experiment, ‘Cheong-un’ cultivar was grown in the rain shelter greenhouses for the tests. Plots were set by randomized block design. According to the growth investigation on the ‘Cheong-un’ cultivar which is supplied with four different formulated fertigation, the formulation N 15 me/ℓ increased the size and weight of fruit leading to 17% increased yield than the others. Additionally, on the amount of annual supply of fertigation with the concentration of N 15 me/ℓ, the treatment applied with 10kg/10a during the cultivation period facilitated overall growth of ‘Cheong-un’ cultivar and increased the yield as well. In the irrigation experiment ‘Cheong-un’ cultivar was grown in the four differently planned treatments that start irrigation at –20, -40, -50 and -100kPa soil moisture tensions. According to the investigation, the irrigation treatment starting at -50kPa enhanced the number of fruit bearing and productivity of Boxthorn consistently during two years. Conclusion : Therefore, the newly developed fertigation and irrigation methods could enhance the annual income of Boxthorn growers by increasing growth and yield.

Soybean is a crop of importance economically and nutritionally in many parts of the world. Thanks to many new genes brought from genomic research, It is possible to introduce various candidate genes through genetic transformation to see the performance of the genes in field. In our lab, soybean transformations have been tried for last 10 years to probe the possibility of traits improvement by transformation of new gene into soybean. For this purpose, three different genes were transformed into Korean soybean variety, Kwangan. First, the gene that controls early flowering of plant was transformed into Kwangan. Second, a candidate gene for soybean mosaic virus (SMV) resistance was transformed to produce transgenic plants. Third, another candidate gene for drought tolerance was transformed. All the transgenic plants from three genes transformation were produced for their gene insertion and their expression using PCR, qRT-PCR. Further analysis including harvesting seeds is currently undertaken.

Dandelion has been widely utilized for medicinal and edible purposes. This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplemental LED (light-emitting diode) light on germination, growth characteristics and anthocyanin content of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) seedling using LED blue (460 nm), red (660 nm, R), blue + red (B:R=6:4) and fluorescent lamp light treatment. By LED illumination to T. officinale seed germination speed was delayed, and germination rate was the highest in the fluorescent light. The growth characteristics (plant height, number of leaves, root length and fresh weight) were greatly influenced by supplemental LED light compared with control treatment, and the growth promotion was the most effective in the red LED illumination. After 60 days of red and mixed LED light treatments, anthocyanin content of dandelion plants was significantly changed. The anthocyanin content was increased by 12~19 mg/100 g under the red LED and the mixed light conditions compared with the control and the blue LED. Results indicate that illumination with red and mix LEDs, compared with other light treatments, is beneficial for promotion of growth and anthocyanin content in dandelion.

Korean soybean variety Kwangan was transformed with ORE7 gene using highly efficient soybean transformation system. The gene is known to exhibit a delayed leaf senescence phenotype in Arabidopsis. To confirm phenotypic characterization of leaf senescence for non-transgenic (NT) and transgenic plants, we transplanted T1 transgenic lines 7, 9, 14 and 15 together with two negative controls (NT and EV) in greenhouse. As a result, line 15 showed dramatic phenotypic characterization of yield increase and senescence delay. In addition, to investigate the agriculture traits for transgenic plants with leaf senescence delaying, T2 transgenic lines and two negative controls were transplanted on GMO fields in Ochang and harvested T3 seeds (2010). Most transgenic lines showed higher total seed weigh than NT. Especially, total seed weight of line 15 was increased by about 180% and 120% compared with the NT and EV, respectively. Therefore, we carried out the second field experiments with T3 transgenic line 15 and NT in Ochang (2011). A total of 117 transgenic plants were divided into two groups, senescence delaying (64 out of 117 plants) and increased yield (53 out of 117 plants), by transcript level of ORE7 gene. Interestingly, among increased yield plants, total seed weight of each 7 plants were increased by more than 200% compared with NT.

The composition of free sugar, free amino acid, and fatty acid in tubers of the cultivars 'Superior', 'Sinnamjak', and 'Chubaek' were evaluated at the two sites with different altitude, Gangneung (20 m altitude) as lowland and Daekwallyeong (760 m altitude) as highland. The average reducing sugar content of the three potato cultivars harvested in Daekwallyeong and Gangneung was 1.1% and 2.3%, respectively, which showed two-fold difference between the two locations. Average total sugar content was also two-folds lower in potatoes harvested in Daekwallyeong (6.3%) than those harvested in Gangneung (12.2%). Average content of free amino acids of the three potato cultivars harvested in Daekwallyeong and Gangneung was 1,325 mg/100g and 1,051 mg/100g, respectively. The cultivar 'Chubaek' has the highest amino acid content among the three tested cultivars. Potatoes from Daekwallyeong have higher unsaturated fatty acid levels than those from Gangneung. During the tuber development, unsaturated fatty acids levels increased in tubers grown in Daekwallyeong, but decreased in those grown in Gangneung. These results indicate that the quality of potatoes from Daekwallyeong is from Gangneung for food processing purpose for human consumption.