• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.103-134
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• 1977

The physiological and biochemical role of potassium for upland crops according to recent research reports and the nutritional status of potassium in Korea were reviewed. Since physical and chemical characteristics of potassium ion are different from those of sodium, potassium can not completely be replaced by sodium and replacement must be limited to minimum possible functional area. Specific roles of potassium seem to keep fine structure of biological membranes such as thylacoid membrane of chloroplast in the most efficient form and to be allosteric effector and conformation controller of various enzymes principally in carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Potassium is essential to improve the efficiency of phoro- and oxidative- phosphorylation and involve deeply in all energy required metabolisms especially synthesis of organic matter and their translocation. Potassium has many important, physiological functions such as maintenance of osmotic pressure and optimum hydration of cell colloids, consequently uptake and translocation of water resulting in higher water use efficiency and of better subcellular environment for various physiological and biochemical activities. Potassium affects uptake and translocation of mineral nutrients and quality of products. potassium itself in products may become a quality criteria due to potassium essentiality for human beings. Potassium uptake is greatly decreased by low temperature and controlled by unknown feed back mechanism of potassium in plants. Thus the luxury absorption should be reconsidered. Total potassium content of upland soil in Korea is about 3% but the exchangeable one is about 0.3 me/100g soil. All upland crops require much potassium probably due to freezing and cold weather and also due to wet damage and drought caused by uneven rainfall pattern. In barley, potassium should be high at just before freezing and just after thawing and move into grain from heading for higher yield. Use efficiency of potassium was 27% for barley and 58% in old uplands, 46% in newly opened hilly lands for soybean. Soybean plant showed potassium deficiency symptom in various fields especially in newly opened hilly lands. Potassium criteria for normal growth appear 2% $K_2O$ and 1.0 K/(Ca+Mg) (content ratio) at flower bud initiation stage for soybean. Potassium requirement in plant was high in carrot, egg plant, chinese cabbage, red pepper, raddish and tomato. Potassium content in leaves was significantly correlated with yield in chinese cabbage. Sweet potato. greatly absorbed potassium subsequently affected potassium nutrition of the following crop. In the case of potassium deficiency, root showed the greatest difference in potassium content from that of normal indicating that deficiency damages root first. Potatoes and corn showed much higher potassium content in comparison with calcium and magnesium. Forage crops from ranges showed relatively high potassium content which was significantly and positively correlated with nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium content. Percentage of orchards (apple, pear, peach, grape, and orange) insufficient in potassium ranged from 16 to 25. The leaves and soils from the good apple and pear orchards showed higher potassium content than those from the poor ones. Critical ratio of $K_2O/(CaO+MgO)$ in mulberry leaves to escape from winter death of branch tip was 0.95. In the multiple croping system, exchangeable potassium in soils after one crop was affected by the previous crops and potassium uptake seemed to be related with soil organic matter providing soil moisture and aeration. Thus, the long term and quantitative investigation of various forms of potassium including total one are needed in relation to soil, weather and croping system. Potassium uptake and efficiency may be increased by topdressing, deep placement, slow-releasing or granular fertilizer application with the consideration of rainfall pattern. In all researches for nutritional explanation including potassium of crop yield reasonable and practicable nutritional indices will most easily be obtained through multifactor analysis.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.258-263
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• 2016

The risks of sanitary indicative bacteria, heavy metals and chlorinated derivatives in 94 cases of sanitary wet towels used in food services (39 from sanitary wet towel treatment business, 55 from food services) were assessed in the present study. Lead was detected in the range of N.D.~0.41 mg/kg (75 cases were not detected), N.D.~0.25 mg/kg of arsenic (93 cases were not detected), N.D.~0.01 mg/kg of cadmium (7 cases were lower than limit of quantitation; 87 cases were not detected), 0.003 mg/kg ~ 0.09 mg/kg of mercury. And chromium (VI) was not detected from all samples. The level of lead was the highest among the tested heavy metals, and the highest concentration of lead was 0.41 mg/kg. However, it was only 2.1% of legal limit (less than 20 mg/kg). The average moisture content of the samples was 61.9% (50.0% ~ 77.0%) and it showed no relevance to the detection of bacterial counts. Escherichia coli was not detected. Bacterial counts were detected 43 cases and among them, 24 cases were exceeded the legal limit. It was verified that the packaging conditions of sanitary wet towel (whether it is packed by a piece or not and sealed or not) are critical factors to cause the germ contamination and cross contamination in the wet towels. The chlorinated derivatives (chlorites and chlorates) were detected in 17 (19.3%) out of 88 cases. The results would be used as preliminary information to establish the programs of "Safety education for manufacturers and public policy of safety".

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.68 no.3
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• pp.188-196
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• 2023

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important crop in Korea, with a per capita consumption of 31.6 kg in 2019. In the southern region, wheat is grown after paddy rice, and it is harvested during the rainy season in mid-June. This timing, in combination with high humidity and untimely rainfall, activates the enzyme alpha-amylase, which breaks down starch in the wheat grains. As a result, sprouted grains have lower quality and value for flour. However, seeds that absorb water before sprouting are expected to maintain better quality. The aim of the study was to identify the critical period during wheat maturation when rainfall has the greatest impact on grain quality, to prevent price declines due to quality deterioration. Two wheat cultivars, Jokyoung and Hwanggeumal, were grown in a speed breeding room, and artificial rainfall was applied at different times after heading (30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55 days). The proportion of vitreous grains decreased from 40 to 55 days after heading (DAH). Both cultivars had chalky grain sections from 35 DAH, with Hwanggeumal having a higher proportion of vitreous grains. Starch degradation was observed using FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) at 40 DAH for Jokyoung and 50 DAH for Hwanggeumal. Color measurements indicated increased L and E values from 40 DAH, with rain treatment at 55 DAH leading to a significant increase in L values for both cultivars. Ash content increased at 45 DAH, whereas SDSS decreased at 35 DAH. Overall, grain quality from 40 DAH until harvest was found to be affected to the greatest extent by direct exposure of the spikes to moisture. Red wheat showed better quality than white wheat. These findings have implications for the cultivation of high-quality wheat and can guide future research efforts in this area.