Growth and Mineral Contents of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) and Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) as Related with a Low Dose Gamma Irradiation

This study was to evaluate the effects of gamma irradiation on the germination, nutrient concentrations and growth of spinach and radish. Both the spinach and radish seeds exhibited relatively higher germination rates in response to the low doses of gamma irradiation compared to the non -irradiated control. Leaf DW of the radish did not respond to gamma irradiation but that of the spinach increased significantly in response to a gamma radiation of 4 Gy (P< 0.05). Leaf growth parameters of the spinach including the leaf area and SLA (leaf area/leaf dry weight) also demonstrated increased responses to gamma irradiation. R/S (root dry weight/shoot dry weight), root DW and root length of the spinach exhibited a positive response to gamma irradiation while those of the radish did not. In contrast, SRL (root length/root dry weight) significantly decreased with gamma irradiation at 8 Gy for the spinach, but not for the radish. The tissue nitrogen concentrations of the spinach showed an increased response to gamma irradiation while that of the radish did not. Furthermore, higher concentrations of phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium were found in the irradiated spinach, but not in the irradiated radish. It seems that the non-specific physiological and/or biochemical activities of spinach might be accelerated by gamma irradiation, possibly accounting for the stimulation of nutrient uptake from the root media and early biomass accumulation in the current study.