• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.94-101
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to establish postharvest management techniques including a temperature pre-conditioning protocol for maintaining fruit quality in newly developed early-season Korean pear cultivar 'Hanareum' (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai). The fruits were treated with three different pre-conditioning temperatures (21, 25, or $29^{\circ}C$) for 4 days according to the harvest time (103 or 110 days after full bloom, DAFB). The percent weight loss was relatively low in the fruits subjected to low pre-conditioning temperature regardless of harvest time. The firmness of the fruits treated with pre-conditioning at $21^{\circ}C$ remained high during 20 days of simulated marketing at $25^{\circ}C$, although all treated fruits showed a general decline of firmness with extended time of simulated marketing. These fruits also showed higher appearance and a lower incidence of mealiness disorder symptoms. During the experimental periods, the production of ethylene was lower in the fruits pre-conditioned at $21^{\circ}C$ in comparison with those of treated at 25 and $29^{\circ}C$. High respiration rates were obvious in the fruits pre-conditioned at high temperature ($29^{\circ}C$), especially in the optimum-harvested fruits, where respiration was approximately two times higher than that of fruits exposed to $21^{\circ}C$ during pre-conditioning. However, the respiration rate was similar during simulated marketing at $25^{\circ}C$ regardless of harvest time. These results demonstrated that temperature pre-conditioning at $21^{\circ}C$ is a simple and effective postharvest technique for summer harvested Korean pear cultivars including 'Hanareum'.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2016

The measurement of total fresh weight of plants provides an essential indicator of crop growth for monitoring production. To measure fresh weight without damaging the vegetation, image-based methods have been developed, but they have limitations. In addition, the total plant fresh weight is difficult to measure directly in hydroponic cultivation systems because of the amount of nutrient solution. This study aimed to develop a real-time, precise method to measure the total fresh weight of Romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Asia Heuk Romaine) with growth stage in a plant factory using a nutrient film technique. The total weight of the channel, amount of residual nutrient solution in the channel, and fresh shoot and root weights of the plants were measured every 7 days after transplanting. The initial weight of the channel during nutrient solution supply (Wi) and its weight change per second just after the nutrient solution supply stopped were also measured. When no more draining occurred, the final weight of the channel (Ws) and the amount of residual nutrient solution in the channel were measured. The time constant (${\tau}$) was calculated by considering the transient values of Wi and Ws. The relationship of Wi, Ws, ${\tau}$, and fresh weight was quantitatively analyzed. After the nutrient solution supply stopped, the change in the channel weight exponentially decreased. The nutrient solution in the channel slowly drained as the root weight in the channel increased. Large differences were observed between the actual fresh weight of the plant and the predicted value because the channel included residual nutrient solution. These differences were difficult to predict with growth stage but a model with the time constant showed the highest accuracy. The real-time fresh weight could be calculated from Wi, Ws, and ${\tau}$ with growth stage.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.269-281
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• 2016

The statistical analyses of coefficient of variation, heritability, and genetic advance were carried out to identify differences in morphological characteristics, such as the stem and inflorescence length, of 10 major commercial cultivars of spray chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium). For morphological characteristics, stem lengths ranged from 46.4 cm to 54.9 cm, the maximum diameter of stem was 5.6 to 8.5 mm, the hardness of the stem was 0.17 to $0.70kg{\cdot}m^{-2}$, the fresh weight of stem was 7.5 to 17.5 g, the dry weight of the stem was 1.6 to 3.3 g, the ratio of dry weight/fresh weight of stem was 15.9% to 23.1%. Also, the number of leaves on the stem was 8.4 to 12.2, the stem leaf area was 17.8 to $37.8m^2$, the fresh weight stem leaves was 5.3 to 18.6 g, the dry weight was 0.5 to 1.4 g and the ratio of dry weight /fresh weight of stem leaves was 7.6% to 11.5%. The inflorescence length ranged from 10.1 to 18.6 cm, the fresh weight of inflorescence was 7.3 to 26.7 g, the dry weight of inflorescence was 1.2 to 2.8 g, the ratio of dry weight /fresh weight of inflorescence was 10.4% to 17.1%. For flower, the diameter of the flower center was 8.2 to 13.3 mm, the petal width was 5.7 to 14.0 mm, the petal length was 12.9 to 33.1 mm, and the petal thickness was 157.8 to $354.4{\mu}m$. The mean values of each character in each cultivar were very different, and DMRT and LSD values based on morphological characteristics among 10 cultivars were highly significant. For variability and genetic parameters, the lowest CV (coefficient of variation), PCV (phenotypic coefficient of variation), and GCV (genotypic coefficient of variation) were 4.79% to 5.15% in stem length, and the highest variations were 62.97% to 65.21% in leaf area. ECV (error or environmental coefficient of variation) was the lowest for leaf area (1.71%) and it was the highest for leaf dry weight (19.30%). Heritability also significantly differed among the characteristics, ranging from 68.69% to 99.67%, the lowest value was shown in ratio of dry weight /fresh weight of stem and the highest value was for leaf area of stem. The value for genetic advance was the lowest in hardness of stem at 0.30 and the highest in leaf thickness at 156.65. The lowest genetic advance as percentage of mean of stem hardness was 9.17%, while the highest percentage of stem length was 134.27%. Thus the characters which had the highest values indicated above show the influence of additive gene action and may provide useful resources for selection programs for agronomic improvement.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.886-897
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• 2016

The physical properties of rooting media for the establishment of plugs in a greenhouse are modified according to variations in the greenhouse environment throughout the season. In this study, we established a standard for rooting media for the production of plug seedlings for each growing season (summer, winter and spring fall). Eight types of peatmoss (PM) and 4 types of perlite (PL) commonly used in Korea were collected and blended with the ratio of 7 parts PM to 3 parts PL (v/v) to make 32 different rooting media blends. We determined the total porosity (TP), container capacity (CC), air-filled porosity (AFP), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) of the 32 media blends, and 6 media blends were selected for seasonal use. We also conducted additional analyses for plant easily available water (EAW), buffering water (BW), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and nutrient contents in the 6 media blends. The TP, CC, and AFP of the 32 media blends ranged from 64.7 to 96.0%, 42.9 to 90.1%, and 1.3 to 27.8%, respectively, indicating that the physical properties were strongly influenced by the type of PM and PL. The pH and EC of the PMs ranged from 2.96 to 3.81 and 0.08 to $0.47dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, respectively. However, after blending the PM with the PL the pH was raised and the EC was lowered The media blends selected for the summer growing season were Blonde Golden peatmoss (BG) + No. 1 perlite size < 1 mm (PE1) and Latagro 0-10 mm (L1) + No. 2 perlite size 1-2 mm (PE2). These two media blends had 89.8-90.9% of TP, 80.8-81.3% of CC, and 9.0-9.7% of AFP. The media blends selected for the winter growing season were Sfagnumi Turvas (ST) + PE2 and Latagro 20-40 mm (L3) + PE2. These media blends had 79.9-86.7% of TP, 60.4-74.9% of CC, and 11.8-19.6% of AFP. The TP, CC, and AFP of two media blends, BG + No.3 perlite 2-5 mm (PE3) and Orange peatmoss (O) + PE3, selected for the spring and fall growing seasons, respectively, were 85.2-87.3%, 77.9%, and 7.4-9.4%, respectively. The percentage of EAW of the media blends selected for the spring, summer, and winter growing seasons ranged from 24.2-24.9%, 22.0-28.6%, and 18.0-21.8%, respectively, but the percentages of BW were not significantly different among the selected root media blends. The pH, EC, and CEC of the 6 selected media blends ranged from 3.11-3.97, $0.06-0.26dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, and $97-119meq{\cdot}100g^{-1}$, respectively.