Pepper cultivation requires a great amount of manual labor, especially for varieties needing support stakes to prevent them bending or breaking in heavy winds or rain. In Korea, it is recommended to secure support stakes and string lines carefully, so as to minimize the risk of damage caused by typhoons. The harvesting of peppers is a labor-intensive process with low rates of mechanization.The removal of stakes is particularly time-consuming during mechanical harvesting, and lodging is a major issue during cultivation and mechanical harvesting. Given increased mechanization during pepper harvesting, it is important to consider these issues when undertaking variety development and cultivation method improvements. Further research and development are required to improve cultivation practices and develop pepper varieties that are more resistant to lodging. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of different cultivation methods on pepper lodging, thus broadening our knowledge on the desirable architecture of pepper plants required for lodging tolerance.

The term ‘lodging’ in agriculture is usually used when the crops fall from their upright position before harvesting. Various factors may be responsible, including inherent weaknesses in the stem, resulting from low lignin content or small root systems.Weather, such as strong winds or rains, will also likely increase lodging. Insect or disease damage can also weaken the plants, and cultural practices, such as fertilization, irrigation, and cultivation techniques, may increase the risk. Most of the research studies on lodging have been undertaken on cereal crops, but this is also an issue with many vegetable crops, and especially those that require mechanized harvesting. In this review, the issue of lodging in solanaceous vegetable crops is discussed, with an emphasis on the key risk factors and potential areas for future research that can identify damage mitigation strategies.

The effects of exogenous sodium nitroprusside (SNP, nitric oxide donor) on the growth, yield, photosynthetic characteristics, and antioxidant enzyme activity of kimchi cabbage (Brassica rapa L. subsp. pekinensis (Lour.) Hanelt) was studied under the low temperature conditions. Kimchi cabbages were treated with SNP of three concentrations (7.5, 15, 30 mg·L-1) for three times at four-day intervals and exposed to low temperature (16/7°C) stress for seven days. SNP treatment induced increases of net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), intracellular CO2 concentration (Ci) and transpiration rate (Tr) under the stress condition with the highest level after the third treatment. The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and H2O2 were significantly lower in the treatment of SNP compared to the non-treated control. The activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), increased in treated plants by up to 38, 187, 24 and 175%, respectively compared to the non-treated control. SNP-treated and untreated plants had similar growth characteristics. Compared to the control group, SNP-treatment increased fresh weight and leaf area by 5%. Overall, our findings suggest that the application of sodium nitroprusside to the leaves contributes to reducing physiological damage and enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes, thereby improving low temperature stress tolerance in kimchi cabbage.

The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) maintains the world’s largest public vegetable germplasm collection. The Genebank contains over 65,000 accessions and consists of more than 130 genera and 330 species. It includes around 12,000 accessions of indigenous vegetables. The WorldVeg Korea Office (WKO) has been conducting regional adaptability evaluations in the fields of the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science (NIHHS), with a focus on major solanaceous vegetable crops such as tomato, chili, and bell pepper. As climate change significantly affects vegetable crop productivity, the development of high-performing cultivars, tolerant to various abiotic and biotic stresses with enriched nutrients inside, is essential to enhance agricultural sustainability and human health. In this regard, the evaluation of growth and horticultural characteristics of pepper and tomato accessions from the WorldVeg will help contribute to the generation of new and improved cultivars, to address global challenges that affect food security, sustainability, and adaptation to climate change. Here, we summarize our activities and the results of the regional adaptability evaluation using the WorldVeg accessions of pepper and tomato germplasms.

살리실산은 식물의 생장 및 발달, 항산화 방어기작, 광합성 작용 그리고 생물적 및 비생물적 스트레스 조건에서 다양한 생리적 기능을 조절하는 물질로 알려져 있다. 본 연구에서는 고온･건조 스트레스 조건에서 살리실산 경엽처리가 고추의 생육, 광합성 특성 및 항산화효소 활성에 미치는 영향을 구명 하고자 하였다. 광합성 특성 측정결과 광합성 속도, 기공전도 도 및 증산 속도가 증가하였고, 3회차 처리에서 가장 높았다. 세포내 MDA와 H2O2 함량은 살리실산 3회차 처리에서 현저 하게 감소하는 경향을 보였다. APX, CAT, POD 및 SOD 활 성이 현저하게 증가하였으며, 무처리 대비 최대 247, 318, 55 및 54% 증가하였다. 고추의 생육 특성은 무처리구와 유의한 차이를 보이지 않았으나, 상품 수량은 15% 정도 증가하였다. 이러한 결과들을 종합해 볼 때, 살리실산의 경엽처리는 고추 의 광합성 특성과 항산화효소 활성을 증진시켜 고온･건조 스트 레스에 의한 피해 경감에 긍정적 효과를 유발함을 확인하였다

Protected agriculture has great potential for the vegetable industry in the Philippines as it allows the application of modern cultivation techniques to mitigate adverse weather conditions and enable farmers to manage pests and diseases efficiently. Thus, to address the increasing demand for food in the Philippines, one strategy to increase vegetable production which is tested and/or proven is through the intensified use of protective structures. This review describes the magnitude and potential of agriculture in the Philippines, focusing on the protected cultivation of horticultural crops. The Philippines is far behind in greenhouse technologies compared to other Asian countries where thousands to millions of hectares are used for protected vegetable cultivation. Several studies have investigated the economic viability and applicability of low- and high-cost protective structures in typhoon-prone countries such as the Philippines, demonstrating that protective structures are feasible and profitable. Also, the impact of protected cultivation as compared to the open field has resulted in significantly higher yield and better quality of produce. Hence, the Philippine government with the assistance of the Republic of Korea agreed to improve the country’s flagging vegetable industry and endeavor to attain the status of a food-secure country through the establishment of smart greenhouse technologies. Overall, despite the limitations due to the high cost of electricity and construction protected cultivation facilities including required technologies provide greater advantages for seasonal and off-seasonal vegetable crop production compared to that in the open field. Moreover, such technology can be applied to various geographical locations such as plains, hills, deserts, rural, and urban areas.

본 연구과제는 아시아지역 AFACI(Asian Food & Agriculture Cooperation Initiative) 회원 13개국을 대상으로 토마토 또는 고추 품종육성 기술을 지원하기 위해 수행 되었다. AFACI 회원국 별 채소 육종 및 종자 생산, 가공, 유통 기술 수준 차이가 크다. 라오스, 미얀마, 캄보디아 등의 회원국에서는 자가 종자 생산이 어려워 필 요 종자의 70~80%를 다른 나라에서 수입하여 활용하고 있다. AFACI 회원국들의 자가 종자 생산기술 향상을 통한 자체 종자 생산을 지원하기 위해 회원국들의 요 청을 받아 고추 또는 토마토 작목의 품종육성 기술지원을 수행하였다. 회원국에서 보유하고 있는 다양한 재래종 자원들의 수집, 평가 및 선발과 세계채소센터에서 육성한 자원들을 공급받아 육종 재료로 활용하였다. 본 과제는 2019년 11월부터 2022년 10월까지 1단계 과정을 통해 회원국별로 다양한 성과들을 창출하고 있다. 효율적인 기술지원을 위해 세계채소센터 전문가들을 활용하여 육종 기술과 재료 들을 공급하였다. 2단계에서는 1단계에서 확보된 다양한 자원들을 활용한 우수 고 정종 품종 등록과 일대잡종 품종육성 기술을 지원할 계획이다. 육성된 품종들은 국가별 품종 등록 절차에 따라 품종보호출원 및 농가 보급을 추진할 계획이다. 1 단계에서는 코로나 19로 인한 대면 교육이 불가능하여 국내 종자회사들과의 소통 이 어려웠다. 하지만 2단계에서는 대면 교육 기회를 확대하고, 국내 채소 종자 업 체와 회원국의 연구원들 간의 소통을 확대하여 국내 종자 기업들의 해외 진출에 도 기여 할 수 있도록 노력할 계획이다.