• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 1986

The blue-light effect on the grown as well as on the physiological activity of some major horticultural plants in Korea has been investigated. The light quality used for the work was obtained from sunlight filtered by an orangecolored polyethylene film which removed about 70% of visible light in the spectral region of $350㎚{\sim}500㎚$. The film was developed in this laboratory especially for the work and named BCR film meaning blue color-removing film. The light environment in the plastic house which was built with BCR film provided plants with the blue color-deficient sunlight. Thus, the photobiological effect of blue light could be examined conversely by comparing with the effect of white sunlight in a conventional plastic house built with colorless polyethylene film. In a sense of applicability to horticulture, two remarkable effects of the blue color-deficient sunlight on plant physiology were observed: First, it enhanced to a great extent the growth activity of plants-pepper, cucumber, zucchini, tomato, and leaf lettuce at the vegetative stage as well as at the reproductive stage, as demonstrated by their yield which were in average $40{\sim}50%$ increased compared with the control (under white sunlight). Second, it improved significantly the cold tolerance of plants, as exhibited with their resistance to chilling during treatment in a cold chamber maintained at a temperature which caused chilling injury to the plants of control. The visualized effects were reflected on the physiological activity of cells on organelle level. Chloroplast isolated from the plant leaves grown under BCR film showed considerably stronger photosynthetic activity, as judged by the increased electron transport rate of illuminated chloroplast, than that from leaves grown under white PE film. Mitochondria from leaves grown under BCR film maintained normal respiration activity until temperature decreased to a few degree($^{\circ}C$) lower than the temperature which caused respiratory inhibition to mitochondria obtained from leaves of the control.