Within the framework of a project entitled “Development of Advanced Sweet Potato Cultivation Technology for Smallholder Farmers in Paraguay” implemented by KOPIA Paraguay Center (Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture) in collaboration with Paraguayan Institute of Agricultural T echnology (I PTA) d uring the period 2021-2024, r esults o f four m ain e xperiments are described in this research: selection of suitable varieties, optimal planting and harvesting times, the use of ridges, and optimal chemical fertilization doses. In the selection of suitable varieties for Paraguay, 11 sweet potato varieties were evaluated in departments of San Pedro and Misiones. As a result, varieties Andaí, Jety Paraguay, and Chaco I showed the highest productivity in San Pedro, while varieties Jety Uruguayo, Chaco I, and Taiwanés showed higher productivity in Misiones. The other three experiments were carried out in San Pedro only. Optimal planting and harvesting times were determined with three varieties: Andaí, Pyta Guasu, and Jety Paraguay. For Andaí and Jety Paraguay varieties, they should be planted in December and harvested at 122 days post planting (DPP). For Pyta Guasu, it should be planted in October and harvested at 124 DPP. Regarding productivity response with soil preparation methods, the use of ridges showed higher yields in all planting methods, with the curved method planting being the most productive. Finally, optimal chemical fertilization doses were established in order to improve the total yield. The optimal nitrogen fertilizer dose (urea 45% N) was 40 kg/ha. The optimal phosphorus fertilizer dose (triple superphosphate 45% P2O5) was 80 kg/ha and the optimal potassium fertilizer dose (potassium chloride 60% K2O) was 120 kg/ha.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an essential crop in the Paraguayan diet. It plays a crucial role in food security. It is a source of income for family agriculture. It has a significant potential to adapt to various climatic and soil conditions in Paraguay, making it a promising crop for improving productivity. However, Paraguay faces a deficit in the development of sweet potato cultivation technology, resulting in a low productivity of 5.3 ton/ha. Efforts have been made to collect and characterize sweet potato genotypes, covering a diversity of native varieties. These efforts have laid the groundwork for future sweet potato research and development. Still, ongoing research and development of strategies are needed to address existing challenges of improving genetic resource traits and developing cultivation technology and to fully exploit growth opportunities in this sector. This review summarizes sweet potato cultivation in Paraguay, focusing on several key technical aspects. It analyzes current market situation and production conditions as well as the availability of genetic materials adapted to different ecoregions. Additionally, it explores prospects for the development of advanced sweet potato crops, including the production of high-quality, virus-free sweet potato plants with improved productivity.

To produce super sweet corn sikhye, substituted for sweetener, the ratio of rice and super sweet corn was adjusted and processed with complex enzymes during saccharification, and their physicochemical and sensory properties were analyzed. The soluble solid content of the control and Corn-5 showed significantly high content at 13.50 °Brix, and the reducing sugar content of Corn-5 showed the highest content at 9.45%. The control showed the lowest free sugar content among all the experimental groups, excluding maltose content. In the enzyme-treated corn sikhye group, as the amount of super sweet corn increased, the content of sucrose decreased and the contents of glucose and fructose increased. The content of ascorbic acid and polyphenol compounds increased as the amount of super sweet corn increased. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging abilities increased with increasing ratio of super sweet corn and enzyme treatment compared to the control. In the case of sensory evaluation, Corn-3, which substituted 30% of super sweet corn for rice and treated with enzymes, showed higher evaluations in taste, sweetness, and overall preference than those of the control.

This study examined the impact of two bacterial strains, H05E-12 and H05R- 04, on alleviating non-irrigation-induced stress and its subsequent effects on the fruit productivity of sweet pumpkin plants. When subjected to non-irrigation-induced stress, the lipid peroxidation, proline, total phenol, and total soluble sugar content significantly decreased in plants treated with either H05E-12 or H05R-04 compared to the control. In a greenhouse experiment under non-irrigated conditions, H05E-12-treated plants exhibited higher stomatal conductance than the control, although there was no significant change in the soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value due to treatment. Upon re-watering, an increase in fruit diameter was observed in H05E-12-treated plants, and the L-ascorbic acid content in the fruit also showed a significant increase compared to the control. The H05E-12 strain was identified as Kushneria konosiri. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report detailing the beneficial effects of K. konosiri on the alleviation of non-irrigation-induced stress and the promotion of plant growth in sweet pumpkin plants.

To improve usability of super sweet corn, extracts were prepared with hydrolytic enzyme and changes in physicochemical and antioxidant properties were analyzed. Soluble solids and reducing sugars contents were higher in all enzyme treatment groups than in the control. When enzyme treatment time increased, contents of soluble solids and reducing sugars were also increased. There was no significant difference in lightness between treatment groups, with redness showing the highest value in the control and yellowness showing the highest value in the invertase treatment group. Free sugar content in the control was the lowest. However free sugar content in the enzyme combination treatment group was increased by more than four times compared to that in the control. Contents of ascorbic acid, flavonoids and polyphenols were higher in the enzyme treatment group than in the control. In particular, the enzyme combination treatment group showed the highest content. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging abilities were significantly higher in all enzyme treatment groups than in the control. Radical scavenging abilities of cellulase treatment group and enzyme combination treatment group showed high activity. The activity increased when enzyme treatment time increased. The combined enzyme treatment method for super sweet corn was suitable for food processing.

The key to invasive pest management lies in preemptive action. However, most current research using species distribution models is conducted after an invasion has occurred. This study modeled the potential distribution of the globally notorious sweet potato pest, the sweet potato weevil (Cylas formicarius), that has not yet invaded Korea using MaxEnt. Using global occurrence data, bioclimatic variables, and topsoil characteristics, MaxEnt showed high explanatory power as both the training and test areas under the curve exceeded 0.9. Among the environmental variables used in this study, minimum temperature in the coldest month (BIO06), precipitation in the driest month (BIO14), mean diurnal range (BIO02), and bulk density (BDOD) were identified as key variables. The predicted global distribution showed high values in most countries where the species is currently present, with a significant potential invasion risk in most South American countries where C. formicarius is not yet present. In Korea, Jeju Island and the southwestern coasts of Jeollanam-do showed very high probabilities. The impact of climate change under shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios indicated an expansion along coasts as climate change progresses. By applying the 10th percentile minimum training presence rule, the potential area of occurrence was estimated at 1,439 km2 under current climate conditions and could expand up to 9,485 km2 under the SSP585 scenario. However, the model predicted that an inland invasion would not be serious. The results of this study suggest a need to focus on the risk of invasion in islands and coastal areas.

This study was to evaluate the values of Korean native sweet sorghum as a new feed crop for ruminants. Sweet sorghum was the Muan native species (Bioenergy Crop Research Center, National Institute of Crop Science), and cultivated from May to October 2021 at Sangji University (Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Korea). There were a non-treated group (Con), a recommended amount treatment (RD) and a treatment with double the recommended amount (Double RD) by an oil cake fertilizer. Plant height was measured at weekly intervals for 12 weeks after planting sweet sorghum seedlings, and was a significant difference in the order of Double RD, followed by RD and Con in 7 weeks (p<0.05). Feed values and sugar contents were measured in 7, 9, and 11 weeks. Crude protein of Double RD was higher than that of the other treatments in 7 and 9 weeks (p<0.05). Crude fat was higher at Double RD than the other one in 9 weeks (p<0.05). ADF and NDF of Double RD were higher than the other one (p<0.05). When it was compared to corn and sudangrass hybrids grown on farms, Crude protein was lower in sweet sorghum than other crops (p<0.05), and crude fat was higher in sweet sorghum than corn (p<0.05). Crude fiber, ADF and NDF were higher in sweet sorghum compared to corn and sudangrass (p<0.05). The sugar contents of sweet sorghum were 4.07 ± 0.12∼7.63 ± 0.21 brix, and showed higher than corn and sudangrass hybrid (p<0.05). The rumen in situ digestibility of sweet sorghum was 30.73∼38.13% at the 9th and 11th weeks, and showed higher than that of corn and sudangrass hybrids (p<0.05). Therefore, it is considered that Korean native sweet sorghum has sufficient value as a new forage crop for ruminants, and good value as yield, nutrients and digestibility, when the grass height is 273.33~332.50 cm.

Sweet persimmons are valuable commodity in the export market. However, present of insect pest such as Asiacornococcus kaki can cause limit to many export markets. In this study, ethyl formate(EF), as alternative to methyl bromide(MB), was used in scale-up commercial trial(20ft reefer). Application of 50 g/m3 of EF for 6 hours at 5 ℃ showed proven efficacy against all developmental stages of A. kaki without LLDPE-packaging fruits and no phytotoxic damage on sweet persimmons. This study demonstrated that EF fumigation can be effectively control to target A. kaki before packaging with LLDPE-film of fruits.

Sweet pepper(paprika) belongs to the genus Capsicum, and is one of the most important export product from Korea to Japan and Southeast Asia. So it is important to eradicate plant quarantine pests before export sweet pepper. Aphids, whiteflies and mites are major pests that can damage to sweet peppers. Fumigation is normally used to eradicate pests in plant quarantine, but phytotoxicity may can be appeared that affect the quality of the product. Low-temperature treatment, one of the most popular physical treatment, can reduce crop damage to preserve product quality, but it takes long time to kill pests, which can cause quality degradation. In this study, phytotoxicity of fumigants, phosphine(PH3), ethyl formate(EF) and PH3+EF on sweet peppers was investigated to use as basic data for physicochemical treatment. When treated with more than 35 mg/L of EF, phytotoxicity was occurred, and was not occurred with PH3. When low-temperature of 1.7 degrees treated for 15 days after fumigation, it seems to be no direct damage from low-temperature treatment. But quality of top of sweet pepper was decreased from 7 days after fumigation.

Yellow-fleshed "Sweet Gold" kiwifruit on Jeju Island were studied to examine how irrigation and soil moisture control affected changes in photosynthetic traits and fruit quality during fruit maturation (120 to 170 days after full bloom). Concerning photosynthetic characteristics, the photosynthetic rate decreased by 10-19%, stomatal conductance by 24-47%, and transpiration rate by 8-25%, when compared to conventional irrigation, as irrigation was reduced and soil moisture content decreased. Fruit weight showed a tendency to increase until harvest, and while a lower soil moisture content led to a less pronounced increase in fruit weight, this difference was not statistically significant. The dry matter rate exhibited a similar trend to the change in fruit weight. Sugar content demonstrated a continuous increase after 130 days, with lower irrigation amounts resulting in higher levels of sugar content due to decreased soil moisture. The Hue value (h°) exhibited a continuous decrease after 140 days from full bloom, correlating with declining soil moisture content. After 130 days from full bloom, soluble sugar content increased rapidly while starch content gradually decreased after 150 days from full bloom. However, with conventional irrigation, the increase in soluble sugar content tended to be less noticeable. This study confirmed that in yellow-fleshed ‘Sweet Gold’ kiwifruit, managing irrigation and soil moisture reduction during the ripening period can lead to decreased fruit weight but increased dry matter, sugar content, and expression of flesh color, ultimately enhancing fruit quality and expediting ripening.

This study investigated the antioxidant characteristics of sweet potato according to different plant parts and drying methods. The sweet potato plant parts were divided into root tubers, stems, stalks, leaves, and tips, and the drying methods were freeze-drying and hot air drying. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and radical scavenging activity of the sweet potato plant parts were significantly different depending on the plant parts and drying methods. The total polyphenol content of freeze-dried sweet potato leaves and tips were 52.76 and 46.19 mg chlorogenic acid equivalents/g sample, and the total flavonoid contents were 222.47 and 214.12 mg quercetin equivalents/g sample, respectively, and decreased with hot air drying. DPPH radical scavenging activity was higher in freeze-drying than hot air drying and was significantly different depending on the plant parts. The ABTS radical scavenging activity of freeze-dried sweet potato leaves and tips were 43.48 and 44.68 mg Trolox equivalents/g sample, respectively, and decreased with hot air drying. Therefore, additional studies on the functionality of using by-products from sweet potato cultivation are needed.

This study measured coffee’s quality and antioxidant properties by adding sweet sapphire grapes with different extraction conditions to develop materials for a new, healthy, functional coffee menu. As for pH, the control group showed a higher value than the sample group, and ES-SP was the highest at 11.47±0.06oBrix in the soluble solid content. As for organic acids, ES-SP showed the highest values in shikimic acid, formic acid, and acetic acid. In glucose and fructose, ES-SP showed high contents of 19236.80 mg/ml and 24578.21 mg/ml among sample groups. Trigonelin and chlorogenic acid showed the highest values of ES-SP at 1349.44±0.50 mg/mL and 1132.58±0.51 mg/mL. In caffeine, the control group and ES-SP showed high content. In DPPH, all sample groups showed higher values than the control group. The total phenol content was the highest in the control and ES-SP groups. As a result of the above espresso extraction conditions, coffee has high organic acid, free sugar, trigonelin, chlorogenic acid, antioxidant, and total polyphenol content, providing suitable manufacturing method for developing coffee menus using sweet sapphire.

As the average temperature on Earth increases due to global climate change, crops are further needed to overcome this issue. Since sweet potato has high yield potential, can grow in harsh environments, and contains abundant nutrients, it is a potential substitute food in response to environmental crises. Compared to grains such as rice and barley, sweet potato has a lower glycemic load and contains various natural antioxidants, showing a variety of physiological functions. Thus, sweet potato is in the spotlight as a healthy food. Although domestic sweet potato production continued to decrease from 1990 to 2010, its production was maintained or slightly increased until 2020 due to the changes in consumers’ dietary habits that emphasize health. In this regard, steamed or roasted sweet potatoes were consumed as a snack substitute in the previous eating form. Furthermore, sweet potato starch has been used in various industries, including food. Therefore, this study intends to discuss the value of sweet potatoes as food, the production trend and cultivation method of sweet potatoes in South Korea, and the industrial application of sweet potatoes.

생물환경조절학회지 31권 4호에 게재된 논문의 사사가 잘못 기재되어 있어 바로 잡습니다.

생물환경조절학회지 30권 3호에 게재된 논문의 그래프를 수정합니다.

본 연구에서는 파프리카(Capsicum annuum L.) ‘Scirocco’ 품종 수경재배 시 배액 재사용 여부에 따른 순환식 재배와 비 순환식 재배 및 배지 종류가 배액의 양분 이온 변화 양상과 생 육에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 파프리카의 파종은 2021년 8 월 19일에, 정식은 2021년 9월 16일, 순환식 및 비순환식의 재 배 방식 적용은 2021년 10월 21일에 시행하였다. 배액 내 양 분 분석 결과, Na+와 Cl‒은 작물이 제대로 흡수하지 않는 대표 적은 이온으로써 생육이 진전될수록 순환식 재배방식에서 집 적되었다. 또한 배액 내 NH4-N의 함량이 NO3-N의 함량에 비 해 현저히 낮으므로 파프리카의 이온 선택성으로 인해 NO3-N 보다 NH4-N이 우선 흡수되는 것으로 생각된다. 파프리카의 생육 및 과실 특성은 배액 재사용 여부와 배지의 종류에 따른 처리 간의 차이가 크지 않았다. 결론적으로 순환식과 비순환 식의 수경재배 방식, 코이어와 암면의 배지 종류에 따른 파프 리카 수경 재배 시 중기 이후의 세력 약화로 인한 착과 불량을 유의하여 관리한다면 처리 간의 차이가 크지 않으므로 농가의 실정에 맞는 재배 방식과 배지를 선택하여 파프리카를 생산할 수 있을 것으로 생각된다. 다만 최근 환경오염에 대한 관심이 높아진 만큼 배액 재사용에 따른 병원균 감염 등을 잘 관리한 다는 가정 하에서 순환식 재배 방식을 채택해도 수량 감소나 품질 저하 등은 우려하지 않아도 될 것이라 판단되며, 폐기 문 제가 발생하는 암면 대신 코이어 배지를 선택한다면 더욱 환 경오염 감소에 기여할 수 있으리라 기대된다.

파프리카는 최근 카로티노이드, 비타민C, E, 페놀화합물과 같은 다양한 식물 유래 생리활성물질 등의 효능이 보고되면서 영양성이 풍부한 식품으로서 각광받고 있다. 수확 후 파프리 카 과실의 품질은 모양, 과중, 과피의 색상, 꼭지의 형태 등의 외관상 특징에 의해 주로 결정된다. 이러한 점에서 파프리카 비상품과는 미각적 특성과 영양학적 가치가 고려되지 않은 채 상품과의 50－70% 가격을 받거나 폐기된다. 본 연구는 파프 리카 상품과 및 비상품과의 외적 품질, 일반 성분, 무기물, 항 산화능 및 카로티노이드의 조성을 비교하기 위하여 수행되었 다. 상품성에 따른 과실의 외적 품질 및 일반 성분은 평균 과중 을 제외하고 유의한 차이가 없었다. 무기물 함량과 총페놀은 상품과에서 유의하게 높게 나타났다. 항산화능의 경우, DPPH 라디칼 소거활성은 시료 간에 유의적인 차이는 보이지 않았 다. ABTS 라디칼 소거활성은 더욱이 100과 1,000μg·mL-1농 도에서, 환원력은 500과 1,000μg·mL-1에서 상품과가 비상품 과에 비해 높은 활성을 보였으나 그 외 농도에서는 유의적인 차이가 없었다. β-카로틴을 포함한 주요 활성성분이라 예상되 는 카로티노이드의 함량은 상품과와 비상품과에서 각각 29.3 ± 2.6과 31.9 ± 2.9μg·g-1이었으며, 통계적으로 유의한 차이는 없었다. 실험 결과, 파프리카 과실은 외관상 품질에 따른 영양 성, 항산화능 및 카로티노이드 조성 차이가 미미하거나 없는 것으로 확인된 바, 파프리카 비상품과 과실은 건강 가공식품 의 소재로서 상품과 못지 않은 가치를 지닌 것으로 판단된다.