The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of spermine treatment on the growth, yield and quality in strawberry under low-temperature condition, and thereby develop a chemical method to minimize damages by low temperature in greenhouse cultivation. Spermine treatment significantly improved the growth of strawberry in terms of leaf number, leaf area, leaf length, leaf diameter, plant height and plant weight. The highest effect was observed in the 250 uM spermine treatment and the effect tended to be maintained during the entire growth period of 90 days. Fresh weight and dry weight were significantly different depending on the concentrations of spermine. Strawberry plants treated with 250 uM spermine showed higher fresh weight and dry weight compared to untreated control plants during the growth period. Fruit weight, fruit length and fruit diameter were relatively higher when treated with 100 μM spermine compared to other treatments. The fruit yield was the highest with 14 fruits per plant at 250 μM spermine treatment and the coloration of the fruit was the best at this treatment with the Hunter a and b values of 46.56 and 28.75, respectively. The hardness of strawberry fruit tended to increase higher than 2N at 250 μM and 500 μM 250 uM spermine treatment. The sugar content of strawberries treated with 250 μM spermine was 9.5 ° Bx which was 1.6 ° Bx higher compared to that in untreated control. However, spermine treatment did not affect the acidity of fruit and it remained 0.68-0.76% regardless of treatment concentrations. These results suggest that spermine treatment has a positive effect on the growth and productivity of strawberry fruit under abnormal low-temperature condition. The positive effect was the highest at 250 μM spermine treatment and gradually decreased in the order of 100 μM, 500 μM, and untreated control.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of low temperature on the growth, yield, quality, and biologically active compounds of strawberry and obtain basic information for developing a technology for stable growth of strawberry in greenhouses. Growth of strawberry, including leaf number, area, and length, plant height, and dry weight was better at the optimum growth temperature of 20℃ than at a lower temperature of 15°C. At the low temperature of 15°C, the cultivar 'Maehyang' was more tolerant and displayed better growth rate than 'Seolhyang'. At 15°C, the fruit production per week and fruit weight was lower than that at 20°C. In contrast, fruit length and diameter were not significantly different between the two growth temperatures. Growth temperature also did not affect the fruit color index, Hunter L, a, b value, or fruit firmness. However, the sugar content of strawberries grown at 15 was higher by 0.8 and 1.5 Brix for 'Seolhyang' and 'Maehyang', respectively, than of those grown at 20°C. There was no difference in the content of fisetin, a biologically active compound, for 'Seolhyang' at both growth temperatures, however, the fisetin content of 'Maehyang' was higher at 20°C than at 15 . Cinchonine and ellagic acid content of 'Seolhyang' was higher at 20°C than at 15 , whereas that of 'Maehyang' was higher at 15°C than at 20℃ . Quercetin content showed no significant differences with respect to growth temperature, however, it tended to increase at 20°C. The cinnamic acid content of 'Seolhyang' was higher at 15°C than at 20℃ , whereas that of 'Maehyang' increased at 20°C. Collectively, the biologically active compounds of strawberry were affected by growth temperature. Moreover, the content of these compounds tended to increase at 20°C, the optimum growth temperature, rather than at the sub-optimal growth temperature of 15°C.

The current study was performed to investigate the effect of recycling coir substrates on the growth, fruit yield, and quality of strawberry plants. Analysis of physical properties revealed that the pH of a fresh coir substrate was 5.04 while those of substrates reused for one and two years were 5.20 and 5.33, respectively. The electrical conductivity (EC) of a new substrate was as high as 4.58 dS·m−1. This can cause salt stress after transplanting. The EC tended to decrease as the substrate was recycled, and the EC of a two-year recycled substrate was 1.48 dS·m−1. The fresh substrate had lower nitrogen and calcium concentrations, but higher phosphate, potassium, and sodium concentrations than the recycled coir substrate. The coir substrates recycled for one or two years maintained better chemical properties for plant growth than the fresh substrate. Strawberry growth varied depending on the number of years that the coir substrate was recycled. In general, strawberries grown in substrates that had been reused for two years did better than those grown in substrates that had been reused once or were fresh. Ninety days after transplanting, a plant grown in a substrate that had been reused for two years contained 25 leaves, which was 3.6 more than with a fresh substrate. In addition, the plants grown in a substrate that had been reused for two years exhibited larger leaf areas than those grown in other substrates. Coir substrates that had been reused for one year increased the number and area of leaves, but not as much as the substrate that had been reused for two years. One- and two-year reused coir substrates increased the weight of strawberries produced relative to the unused substrate, but the difference was not statistically significant. The plants grown in two-year reused substrates were longer and wider, as well. Also, the number of fruits per plant was higher when substrates were reused. Specifically, the number of fruits per plant was 28.7 with a two-year reused substrate, but only 22.2 with a fresh substrate. The fruit color indices (as represented by their Hunter L, a, b values) were not considerably affected by recycling of the coir substrate. The Hunter L value, which indicates the brightness of the fruit, did not change significantly when the substrate was recycled. Neither Hunter a (red) nor b (yellow) values were changed by recycling. In addition, there were no significant changes in the hardnesses, acidities, or soluble solid-acid ratios of fruits grown in recycled substrates. Thus, it is thought that recycling the coir substrate does not affect measures of fruit quality such as color, hardness, and sugar content. Overall, reuse of coir substrates from hydroponic culture as high-bed strawberry growth substrates would solve the problems of new substrate costs and the disposal of substrates that had been used once.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of artificial removal of corolla and calyx lobes from open flowers on fruit development and fruit quality of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.). Removing the corolla had no significant effect on fruit weight, hardness, length, and diameter, Hunter L, a, b values, sugar content and acidity. However, removing the calyx lobes significantly inhibited longitudinal and transverse growth of the fruits, resulting in diminished fruit size. In addition, merchantable fruit quality significantly decreased upon removing the calyx lobes, and this tendency was increased as more calyx lobes were removed. Nonetheless, removal of the calyx lobes had no effects on fruit color, sugar content, or acidity, similar to the effect of corolla removal.

The present study was investigated the effect of recycled coir organic substrates on the growth of different vegetable crops. The recycled coir had better physical and chemical properties than the new coir. The growth of tomato plant was better on the coir substrate that had been used for 2 years than that on the new coir substrate. The average number of tomato fruits was 108 on the new coir substrate, while it was 179 and 165 on the coir substrate used for 1 and 2 years, respectively. The growth of cherry tomato plant was also better on the coir substrate used for 2 years than that on the new coir substrate. The average number of cherry tomato fruits was 43 on the new coir substrate, while it was 206 and 164 on the coir substrate used for 1 and 2 years, respectively. The growth of brussel sprout was better on the coir substrate used for 3 years than that on the new coir substrate and the average number of brussel sprout leaves was 26.8 on the new coir substrate, while it was 34.3 on the coir substrate used for 3 years. The growth of Korean cabbage improved on the coir substrate used for 1 years compared to the new coir substrate and the number of leaves was 15.1 on the new coir substrate, while it was 24.3 on the coir substrate used for 1 year. Thus, used coir can be recycled to improve vegetable yields compared to using new coirs.

In nine commercial watermelon cultivars, the effects of osmotic seed priming were evaluated for seed viability and seedling growth at different germination temperatures and field conditions. Generally, primed seeds showed improved germination rate and reduced time for emergence at different germination temperatures, as compared to untreated seeds. In particular, priming effect on seed germination was significantly high at 15℃, which is an environment normally resulting in poor germination. Depending on the watermelon cultivar, germination rate under low temperature (15℃) was improved by up to 15~66% in primed seeds, as compared to untreated seeds. However, priming effect on germination was gradually reduced as the temperature reached to its optimum level for seed germination. Seed priming tended to improve the viability, fresh weight, and dry weight of watermelon seedlings, but its effect on seedling stage was not large, as compared to untreated seeds. Primed watermelon seeds showed improved emergence rate and facilitated germination in the field, but their seedling growth after 30 days from germination was not significantly affected. Our results indicated that seed priming can greatly improve the seed germination at poor temperature conditions in the watermelon.

This study was conducted to investigate days after anthesis (DAA) and fruit after-ripening period (FAP) for seed-harvesting of high quality watermelon seeds. Fruit weight and number of seed per fruit increased according to DAA, while those did not significant about FAP. Ratio of cotyledon at whole seed was higher about 2 to 4% compared to seed coat irrespective of DAA and FAP. Germinability of watermelon was not a significant effect by DAA, however, it had differences by FAP. Percent of germination (PB) was below 50%, when 30 days maturated fruits after anthesis was omitted ripening, while PB was increased to 92% by ripening. In addition, seeds at DAA 40 and FAP 20 were higher general seedling vigors (hypocotyl length, diameter etc.) in BP test. Results indicated that considering seed productivity, it had maximized seed viability at DAA 40 and FAP 20.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of fruit set internode on the germination of watermelon seeds. Generally fruits setted in higher than 20 internode were high percent of germination, fruit setted in low internode(5-10) is low. The higher fruit-set internode, fruit weight was significantly increased, but 1,000 seed weight was decreased the more fruit set internode. However number of seed was about 300 seeds irrespective of fruit-set internode. Investigating viability of seed by BP test, general percent germination was recorded highest at 5 flower cluster above 20 internode of fruit-set internode. In contrast, condition of fruit setted on 3, 4, 6 flower cluster were high percent of germination, regarded as unnormal germination not to be as normal seedling by 2~3%. Seed harvested at 5 flower-cluster had high viability on hypocotyl height and diameter of seedling through early growth test, but were not significant. Therefore 5 flower-cluster was optimum fruit-set internode to obtain high-quality seed.

The present study was conducted to find a way to recycle the coir substrate by investigating changes in its physical and chemical properties based on the number of use year. Specific gravity of unused coir substrate was 0.212 g/cm3 , while it was higher for the substrate used for 2 years. Porosity was different depending on the number of use year. The porosity of unused substrate was 51.9%, but it increased to 68.6% after used for 2 years. In general, physical and chemical properties were better in the coir substrate used for 2 years than in unused one. The number of leaves, leaf area, flesh weight and dry weight of oriental cabbage and lettuce were higher in coir substrate used for 2 years than those in unused one. Whereas, no significant difference was observed between the substrates used for one year and 2 years, indicating that the one time-used wast substrate could be recycled for cultivating vegetables. Growth of the vegetables was improved when organic fertilizer composed of complex organics with different mixing ratios was provided to the coir substrate, compared to untreated plot. The optimum mixing ratio of the wast substrate and complex organics was 2:8(v/v) for fertilization using wast coir substrate. Therefore, coir substrate generally wasted after being used for one time was reuseable by supplying organic fertilizer.

The present study was conducted to development mass production methods for peanut sprouts that is considered as a field of blue ocean among the agricultural products. 'Jopyeong' was the best as a major cultivar for peanut sprouts production. The manual for the production of high-quality peanut sprouts is as following. Germination temperature appropriate for production of high-quality peanut sprouts was 27℃. Peanut sprouts at the growth stage of 8th day, and older plants with advanced growth showed deteriorated merchantable and eating quality. Resveratrol compound was not found in the seeds, but its highest amount was detected from 9-day old sprouts. The best water temperature applicable to high quality peanut sprout production was 25℃. The growth of peanut sprout was inhibited by the high temperatures above 35℃ and low temperatures below 15℃.

The present study was conducted to develop seed treatment for the production of healthy and clean peanut sprout. Dry heat treatment of peanut seeds reduced the incidence of the rot. The seed treatment condition at 52℃ for 10 h. was the most efficient without inhibiting seed viability significantly. Seeds were dark cultured at 27℃ for up to 9 days. The treatment of Indole-B and gibberellic acid influenced germination, T50, fresh, dry weight, hypocotyl length, hypocotyl length diameter, root length, number of lateral root and epicotyl of peanut sprout. There were no differences in the germinability of peanut seeds between gibberellic acid treatment methods but higher fresh weight was observed in the GA3 solution spray after 2 hour water soaking. The general growth and lateral root development of peanut sprouts were suppressed by Indole-B which is used for inhibiting root formation and promoting hypocotyls. The treatment of gibberellic acid promoted hypocotyl elongation, but it did not influence on the growth of hypocotyls and root system.

This study has been carried out to present the valuation system of soil carbon sequestration potentials of soil in accordance with the new climate change scenarios(RCP). For that, by analyzing variation of soil carbon of the each type of agricultural land use, it aims to develop technology to increase the amount of carbon emissions and sequestration. Among the factors which affects the estimation of determining the soil carbon model and influence power after the measurement on soil organic carbon, under the center of a causal relationship between the explanatory variables this study were investigated. Chemical fertilizers (NPK) decreased with increasing the amount of soil organic carbon and as with the first experimental results, when cultivating rice than pepper, the fact that soil organic carbon content increased has been found out. The higher the carbon dioxide concentration, the higher the amount of organic carbon in the soil and this result is reliable under a 10% significance level. On the other hand, soil organic carbon, humus carbon and hot water extractable carbon has been found out that was not affected the soils depth, sames as the result of the first year. The higher concentration of carbon dioxide, the higher carbon content of humus and hot water extractable carbon content. According to IPCC 2006 Guidelines and the new climate change scenario RCP 4.5 and the measurement results of the total amount of soil organic carbon to the crops due to abnormal climate weather, 1% increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was found to be small when compared to the growing rate of increasing 0.01058% of organic carbon in the soil.

This study was conducted to examine the effect of LED light quality and supplemental LED light on growth and flowering for potted flowering plant of Kalanchoe. 1. Plant height of Kalanchoe was enhanced under Red, regardless of treatment time. 2. Root length and stem diameter of Kalanchoe were enhanced by Red+Blue. 3. The number of internodes was not influenced by LED light quality. Length of flower stalk of Kalanchoe increased under Red+Blue, but treatment time did not result in statistically significant differences. 4. Leaf area was not influenced by LED light quality in Kalanchoe. 5. The number of flower buds and open flowers was decreased by LED light treatment, but days to flowering was reduced by Red+Blue for 4 hr after sunset in Kalanchoe. 6. Chlorophyll and anthocyanin content was not significantly affected by LED light treatment, but anthocyanin content tended to increase by Blue 4 hr after sunset. 7. Fresh and dry weight did not increased by LED light treatment in Kalanchoe.

Growth and physiological disorders caused by abnormally low temperatures were evaluated in pepper, an important field crop in Korea. In addition, the effects of chemical treatment using glutamine was verified on minimizing the damages by low temperature. The growth of pepper plants in stem length and diameter was suppressed as the temperature decreased from 25℃, and the suppression level was the highest for plants grown for 90 days at 20℃. However, root growth was not affected by the different temperatures. The number of leaf and leaf area decreased at the temperatures below 25C, an optimum temperature for growth. Fresh weight and dry weight decreased for plants grown at 20℃. Pepper fruit yield also decreased by 11% at 20℃ in comparison to 25℃. Falling blossom rate was different depending on the growth temperature, and the rate was 27.2% at 25℃, 35.2% at 22.5℃, and 41.0% at 20℃, indicating that falling blossom rate increased as temperature decreased. Different growth temperatures did not affected on the level of symptom of calcium deficiency and Phytopathora blight. Falling blossom was severe at abnormally low temperature of 20℃, but the treatment of glutamine reduced falling blossom rate and increased the yield by 7.0% as compared to control. The optimum concentration of glutamine treatment was 10 mg/L for yields.

Tetragonia tetragonides is a medicinal plant native to ocean sand soil of southern provinces and has significant effects on the prevention and curing of gastroenteric disorders. Despite of its popularity, supply of the plant has never met the level of demand because of the absence of an adequate culturing method. The present study, thereby, was conducted for classifying the plants with geographically different characteristics, studying growth habits, developing a new culturing method and establishing a large scale propagation system of selected superior individual plants. The study was also aimed for revealing optimum conditions for seed treatment, fertilization, and efficient culturing system and thereby, for utilizing the plant as a new income source for rural communities. The seed was elongated with size of 2.6 mm (width) × 1.8 mm (length). No difference in seed size was observed depending on different inhabitate. Each flower produced about 4.5~4.8 seeds. Germination rate was high for seeds matured for 40 days after fertilization, but deceased to 50% for seeds matured only for 20 or 30 days. Seed dormancy lasted 6 months and seed storage at humid 5℃ facilitated germination. Mechanical obstruct of seed germination was due to seed coat and removal of seed coat enhanced the germination rate. Optimum temp. for seed storage was 5℃, and high germination rate was maintained for 350 days. However, for stratification condition or at room temperature, germination was significantly reduced as storage time increased Optimum treatment of plant growth regulators was soaking in GA3 250 mg/L for 1 hr. The priming treatment with 50 mM Ca(NO3)2 at 20℃ for two days improved the seed germination with 10% compared to non-treated control. The treatment of 20% NaOCl for 3 hr. improved the seed germination rate up to 10% and 1 day ahead.

The purpose of this article is analyzing the economic impacts of abnormal climate on total revenue of red pepper in Korea, with employing the equilibrium displacement model. Our simulation results show the rate of yield change, price change, and total revenue change according to the climate change scenarios. In th case of by RCP 8.5 Scenario, red pepper production volume would be expected to decrease by 77.2% compared to 2012 while price increasing by 29.6%. As a result, total revenue to be returned to farmers would be reduced by 47.6% than it was in 2012. In contrast, total revenue would be expected to decline by 29.6% according to RCP 4.5 scenario.

The purpose of this article is analyzing the economic impacts of abnormal climate on fall chinese cabbage farmers and consumers in Korea, with employing the equilibrium displacement model. Our results show that there were little difference in gross farm income, even though there were significant yield reductions due to abnormal climate changes. However periodic occurrences of abnormal climates caused serious damage to consumption levels which had declined by 10.6~17.1 percent with higher prices by 15.3~24.6 percent than normal climate years since 1990.

So far, most studies associated with soil carbon sequestration have been focused on long term aspect. However, information regarding soil carbon sequestration in short term aspect is limited. This study was conducted to determine changes of soil organic carbon content and stability of carbon in response to compost application rate and tillage management during rice growing season(150 days) in short term aspect. Under pot experiment condition, compost was mixed with an arable soil at rates corresponding to 0, 6, 12, and 24 Mg/ha. To determine effect of tillage on soil carbon sequestration, till and no-till treatments were set up in soils amended with application rate of 12 Mg/ha. Compost application and tillage management did not significantly affect soil organic carbon(SOC) content in soil at harvest time. Bulk density of soil was not changed significantly with compost application and tillage management. These might result from short duration of experiment. While hot water extractable organic carbon(HWEOC) content decreased with compost application, humic substances(HS) increased. Below ground biomass of rice increased with application of compost and till operation. From the above results, continuos application of compost and reduce tillage might improve increase in soil organic carbon content and stability of carbon in long term aspect.

Due to climate change, the occurrence of abnormal weather conditions has become more frequent, causing damage to vegetable crops grown in Korea. Hot pepper, Chinese cabbage and radish, the three most popular vegetables in Korea, are produced more in the field than in the greenhouse. It has been a trend that the time for field transplanting of seedlings is getting earlier and earlier as the spring temperatures keep rising. Seedlings transplanted too early in the spring take a longer time to resume the normal growth, because they are exposed to suboptimal temperature conditions. This study examined the influence of air temperature during seedling growth on the time required to reach the first fruit maturity and yield of hot pepper. Seedling plants of ‘Super Manita’ hot pepper was grown in temperatures 2.5℃ and 5.0℃ lower than the optimum temperature (determined by the average of temperatures for the past 5 years). Seedlings were transplanted into round plastic containers (30-cm diam., 45-cm height) and were placed in growth chambers in which the ambient temperature was controlled under natural sunlight. The growth of seedlings under lowered temperatures was reduced compared to the control. The mineral (K, Mg, P, N) concentrations in the leaf tissues were higher when plants were grown with the ambient temperature 2.5℃ lower than the optimum, regardless of changes in other growth parameters. Tissue calcium (Ca) concentration was the highest in the plants grown with optimum temperature. The carbohydrate to nitrogen (C/N) ratio, which was the highest (18.3) in the plants grown with optimum temperature, decreased concomitantly as the ambient temperature was lowered 2.5℃ and 5.0℃. The yield of the early harvested fruits was also reduced as the ambient temperature became lower. The first fruit harvest date for the plants grown with optimum temperature (June 27) was 13 days and 40 days, respectively, earlier than that in plants grown with 2.5℃ (July 10) and 5.0℃ (Aug 6) lower ambient temperatures. The fruit yield per plant for the optimum temperature (724 g) was the greatest compared to those grown with 2.5℃ (446 g) and 5.0℃ (236 g) lower temperatures. The result of this study suggests that the growers should be cautioned not to transplant their hot pepper seedlings too early into the field, since it may delay the time of first harvest eventually reducing total fruit yield.

To evaluate peanut sprouts as a functional food material, the quality characteristics and antioxidant activities of soybean yoghurt with different percentages (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0%) of peanut sprout powder (PSP) contents were investigated. The pH of soybean yogurt with PSP decreased in a time- and dose-dependent manner during fermentation, whereas the titratable acidity increased under the same conditions. The Hunter L value (lightness) decreased while the b value (yellowness) and a value (redness) increased as the PSP concentration in soybean yogurt increased. Prior to fermentation, the sugar content of the soybean yogurt increased as the PSP level increased, but the contents decreased as fermentation progressed. Meanwhile, the viscosity of the soybean yogurt increased during fermentation, and the lactic acid bacteria population was higher than that of the control. The sensory properties, including the flavor, color, taste, and overall acceptability, of the soybean yogurt containing 0.5 and 1% PSP, respectively, were higher than those of other tested yoghurts (with 0, 2.0, and 3.0% PSP contents). The antioxidant activity of the soybean yogurt significantly increased at the PSP concentrations of over 1.0%. These results suggest that the addition of PSP has beneficial effects on the quality and functionality of soybean yogurt, and that the addition of 1.0% PSP is the most suitable for manufacturing soybean yogurt.