A noble method was developed for determining indoor greenery ratio through a digital camera and image analysis. Photographs with 10 different exposure compensations level were taken at indoor room using the function of “Partial color (green)” in a digital camera under varied indoor light conditions. RGB photographs were converted into Lab mode using [Image/Mode] function of Photoshop software program. The number of green pixels were calculated within 1 to 127 level (equivalent to -127 to -1 of Hunter a* value) through “Channel a” in [Histogram] function of the software. Greenery ratio was calculated by maximum green pixel number of an exposure compensation in relation to total pixel number, as maximum green pixels number would be obtained under a certain exposure compensation level when it minimizes achromatic color by partially excessive lower or higher light condition within certain area of photograph. When greenery ratio obtained from this method was compared with general greenery calculation of green area through manual selection, coefficient of determination was 0.9852, indicating appropriate greenery ratio estimating method. When applied to vertical planter of veranda and office, greenery ratio varied at 0.53～14.96%. In our experimental condition, error of the function, “Partial color” by the digital camera was within 0.013, while the error of the function, “Channel a” by the software was within 0.005.

Freesia is one of the most popular flowers over the world including Korea, due to the fragrance and beauty of the plant flower. The first domestic freesia cultivar ‘Shiny Gold’ was developed by NIHHS, RDA, in 2003, which has yellow double and large petals and strong fragrance. Ten years have passed since ‘Shiny Gold’ was cultivated at floral farms, and the deterioration of cut flower quality and yield are reported from the farms. Virus infection causes a reduction in the quantity and quality of the cut freesia flowers and is one of the most serious problems in Korea. Virus detection was carried by reverse transcription polymer chain reaction (RT-PCR) for FreMV, FreSV, BYMV, CMV, and TRV, as known to infect freesia. FreMV, FreSV, BYMV, and TRV were detected single or multiply, and CMV was not found in the freesia leaves collected from the farms. To produce virus-free freesia, meristem culture of ‘Shiny Gold’ was conducted in MS medium added ribavirin at different concentration. As the increased of ribavirin concentration, the growth of ‘Shiny Gold’ plantlets was inhibited in freesia’Shiny Gold’. The plantlets produced by meristem culture in ‘Shiny Gold’ were virus free at the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) level.

In Korea, chilli pepper (Capsicum annum L.) is a major vegetable crop. The pepper seed market is about $35 million and the whole sale market including processed products is equivalent to $2 billion, representing the second highest market value among crops, next to rice in Korea. Since the development of elite pepper variety is so competitive, vegetable seed companies usually run two important programs to keep the credibility of seed quality. One program is to deliver F1 hybrid seeds with a high purity test to farmers. The purity control of parents and F1 hybrid to avoid any contamination is conducted by DNA markers because pepper seeds are obtained using MS line. The other program is to identify the F1 variety from other varieties by analyzing the polymorphism so that the company and/or breeder protects the intellectual property from copying by others or from non-intentional contamination. We have developed about 900 EST-SSR sets from pepper and used to both programs. A total of 66 markers were selected to identify 32 F1 varieties and their own parents. Using these markers, the purity control of F1 hybrid rose up to the highest degree. We also found several SSR markers to distinguish F1 variety from other varieties and these markers could be useful to find the uniqueness of F1 cultivar.

Sanglog', a new covered barley cultivar resistant to powdery mildew and barley yellow m osaic virus (BaYMV) was developed by the barley breeding team of the National Crop Experim ent Station (NCES), RDA in 1999. This variety was derived from a cross betwe