• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 1991

Weight-loss, general-appearante, yellowing, and compositions such as chlorophyll, carotenoid, vitamin C and nitrate, were studied to investigate the influence of pre-(cultivar and growing season) and post-(low-temperature and high-density polyethylene film packaging) harvest factors on the shelf-life and quality of leaf lettuce(Lactuca sativa L). Weight-loss was reduced by the treatment of high-density polyethylene film packaging, and more at $0{\sim}1^{\circ}C$ than $4{\sim}5^{\circ}C$. Leaf-lettuce grown in Winter lost less fresh weight than that grown in Autumn. In experiment on difference between cultivars, the reduction of weight-loss in 'Cheongchima' lettuce was somewhat significant than that in 'Jeokchukmyeon' lettuce. The tendency of changes in general appearance was similar to that of weight-loss. The yellowing of leaf lettuce during the storage was caused by chlorophyll degradation. Vitamin C content before the storage was 128.0 mg/100 g FW. in lettuce grown in Winter, 123.8 mg/100g FW. in that grown in Autumn, and more 'Cheongchima' lettuce than 'Jeokchukmyeon' lettuce. In all treatment, vitamin C content decreased rapidly, and this tendency was more obvious at $4{\sim}5^{\circ}C$ than $0{\sim}1^{\circ}C$. The nitrate content of 'Jeokchukmyeon' was 3812.6 ppm and that of 'Cheongchima' was 2855.6 ppm before the storage. Nitrate content decreased more at $4{\sim}5^{\circ}C$ than $0{\sim}1^{\circ}C$ during the storage.

• Plant Resources
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 1999

Nitrate in edible vegetables is converted to nitrite by nitrate reductase(NR) and/or bacteria in intestines. Nitrite and amino, in the intestine of some animals and human, bind to form nitrosamine, which is toxic and known as carcinogen. This study was carried out to examine the effect of added chlorides and their concentrations on growth, yield and nitrate content in leaf lettuce plants in hydroponics. Seeds of lettuce cv, "Samsunjokchukmyon" were planted on April 29, and seedlings were planted on June 2, and were cultured until July 5 in 1998. KCI and CaCl₂ were used as chloride source and their concentrations were 1, 2 and 4 me/L, respectively, in the lettuce standard nutrient solution for National Horticultural Research Institute(NHRI). Completely randomized design with 3 replications was used. Nitrate content and NR activity were measured 2 and 5 weeks after planting(WAP). The obtained results were summarized as the follows : Leaf weight per plant was difference from harvest dates and treatments, but total leaf weight was not significantly different among treatments. Number of leaves was higher in KCI 2 me/L, CaCl₂1 me/L and control at 2 WAP than the others, and was higher in KCI 1 me/L, and control at 3 WAP than others, and was higher in control at 5 WAP. Total number of harvested leaves was the highest in control with 14, which followed by KCI 2 me/L and CaCl₂1 me/L. Nitrate content was decreased by addition of chloride in nutrient solution. Nitrate content in the 3rd and 9th leaves was significantly decreased. NR activity was higher in control and CaCl₂ addition treatments, while KCI addition treatments reduced NR activity. However, no direct relationship with nitrate was observed. Growth characteristics such leaf length and leaf width were not significantly influenced by chloride addition.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.664-672
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• 2012

As an artificial light source, light-emitting diode (LED) with a short wavelength range can be used in closed-type plant production systems. Among various wavelength ranges in visible light, individual light spectra induce distinguishing influences on plant growth and development. In this study, we determined the effects of monochromatic LEDs on leaf shape index, growth and the accumulation of phytochemicals in a red leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. 'Sunmang') and a green leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. 'Grand rapid TBR'). Lettuce seedlings grown under normal growing conditions ($20^{\circ}C$, fluorescent lamp + high pressure sodium lamp, $130{\pm}5{\mu}mmol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, 12 hours photoperiod) for 18 days were transferred into incubators at $20^{\circ}C$ equipped with various monochromatic LEDs (blue LED, 456 nm; green LED, 518 nm; red LED, 654 nm; white LED, 456 nm + 558 nm) under the same light intensity and photoperiod ($130{\pm}7{\mu}mmol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, 12 hours photoperiod). Leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, fresh and dry weights of shoots and roots, shoot/root ratio, SPAD value, total phenolic concentration, antioxidant capacity, and the expression of a key gene involved in the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), were measured at 9 and 23 days after transplanting. The leaf shape indexes of both lettuce cultivars subjected to blue or white LEDs were similar with those of control during whole growth stage. However, red and green LEDs induced significantly higher leaf shape index than the other treatments. The green LED had a negative impact on the lettuce growth. Most of growth characteristics such as fresh and dry weights of shoots and leaf area were the highest in both cultivars subjected to red LED treatment. In case of red leaf lettuce plants, shoot fresh weight under red LED was 3.8 times higher than that under green LED at 23 days after transplanting. In contrast, the accumulation of chlorophyll, phenolics including antioxidants in lettuce plants showed an opposite trend compared with growth. SPAD value, total phenolic concentration, and antioxidant capacity of lettuce grown under blue LED were significantly higher than those under other LED treatments. In addition, PAL gene was remarkably activated by blue LED at 9 days after transplanting. Thus, this study suggested that the light quality using LEDs is a crucial factor for morphology, growth, and phytochemicals of two lettuce cultivars.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.256-262
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• 2007

Image processing systems have been used to measure the plant parameters such as size, shape and structure of plants. There are yet some limited applications for evaluating plant colors due to illumination conditions. This study was focused to present adaptive methods to analyze plant leaf color regardless of illumination conditions. Color patches attached on the calibration bars were selected to represent leaf colors of lettuces and to test a possibility of health monitoring of lettuces. Repeatability of assigning leaf colors to color patches was investigated by two-tailed t-test for paired comparison. It resulted that there were no differences of assignment histogram between two images of one lettuce that were acquired at different light conditions. It supported that use of the calibration bars proposed for leaf color analysis provided color constancy, which was one of the most important issues in a video color analysis. A health discrimination equation was developed to classify lettuces into one of two classes, SOUND group and POOR group, using the machine vision. The classification accuracy of the developed health discrimination equation was 80.8%, compared to farmers' decision. This study could provide a feasible method to develop a standard color chart for evaluating leaf colors of plants and plant health monitoring system using the machine vision.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.228-236
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• 2019

This study is conducted to investigate the effects of growth characteristics (GC) and DPPH radical scavenging activity (DRSA) of the heading lettuce 'Fidel' depending on four concentrations of activated mineral groups (AMG: 1.6% active minerals and 0.03% CaO) added to basic nutrient solutions (diluted by 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2%) and on four different light-emitting diodes (LED; B:R:W ratio = 0:1:12, 0:1:9, 0:5:5, and 2:3:5). Both 0.1 and 0.2% AMG showed better GC of lettuce in plant width, plant length, leaf width, leaf length, and the number of leaves than those of other AMG, while leaf thickness and chlorophyll value did not show significant difference among all AMG. Moreover, 0.1 and 0.2% AMG showed heavier shoot fresh weights than those of other AMG. As for the combinations of AMG and LED, B0:R5:W5 showed the best lettuce GC regardless of AMG compared to other AMG and LED combinations. As shown in the above results of LED, although there was a difference in lettuce growth by LED, the differences of lettuce growth by AMG were statistically significant. The DRSA was the highest at 82.8% in B2:R3:W5, followed by B0:R5:W5 at 77.8%. LED showed differences but AMG did not affect DRSA. Therefore, the optimal conditions in plant factory for GC and DRSA of the lettuce were 0.1% AMG and B0:R5:W5.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.231-236
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• 2022

The research was aimed to improve pre-harvest methods to maintain marketability in postharvest leaf lettuce. In this study, the effect of hydroponics on the growth and post-harvest storage characteristics of 'Chongchima' lettuce grown in peat mass medium hydroponic system using a non-powered culture device or deep water culture (DWC) was evaluated. There was no difference in fresh weight, leaf number, SPAD, moisture content, and C/N ratio between peat moss growing medium hydroponic and DWC methods except plant height. It was found that lettuce cultivation by a nonpowered hydroponics method is easier than the existing DWC. The quality parameters, such as fresh weight loss, SPAD value, and general appearance of lettuce were investigated after harvest. There was no significant difference in fresh weight loss and general appearance during storage of lettuce by the hydroponics methods. However, with the increased storage time of SPAD, which is related to chlorophyll content, was slightly higher in peat moss medium hydroponic was than DWC. When crops such as lettuce are grown under favorable conditions without any agronomic abnormalities, it is suggested that post-harvest storage is not significantly affected by peat moss growing medium hydroponic and DWC.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1509-1519
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• 2011

The protective effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the antioxidant system under paraquat(PQ) stress was investigated in leaves of 8-week-old lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants. PQ stress caused a decrease of leaf growth including leaf length, width and weight. Application of NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), significantly alleviated PQ stress induced growth suppression. SNP permitted the survival of more green leaf tissue preventing chlorophyll content reduction and of higher quantum yield for photosystem II than in non-treated controls under PQ exposure, suggesting that NO has protective effect on chloroplast membrane in lettuce leaves. Flavonoids and anthocyanin were significantly accumulated in the leaves upon PQ exposure. However, the rapid increase of these compounds was alleviated in the SNP treated leaves. PQ treatment resulted in lipid peroxidation and induced accumulation of hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) in the leaves, while SNP prevented PQ induced increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) and $H_2O_2$. These results demonstrate that SNP serves as an antioxidant agent able to scavenge $H_2O_2$ to protect plant cells from oxidative damage. The activities of two antioxidant enzymes that scavenge reactive oxygen species, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in lettuce leaves in the presence of NO donor under PQ stress were higher than those under PQ stress alone. Application of 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4, 4, 5, 5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (PTIO), a specific NO scavenger, to the lettuce leaves arrested SNP mediated protective effect on leaf growth, photosynthetic pigment and antioxidant systems. However, PTIO had little effect on lettuce leaves under PQ stress compared with that of PQ stress alone. The obtained data suggest that the damage caused by PQ stress is in part due to increased generation of active oxygen by maintaining increased antioxidant enzyme activities and SNP protects plants from oxidative stress. From these results it is suggested that NO might act as a signal in activating active oxygen scavenging system that protects plants from oxidative damage induced by PQ stress and thus confer PQ tolerance.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.538-546
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• 2018

Inflorescence, stem, and leaf samples of lettuce grown in a greenhouse in spring and autumn seasons were assayed for sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) content by high performance liquid chromatography. The concentrations of SLs were significantly higher in the inflorescences followed by upper leaf and stem compared to the other plant parts in most of the samples. SLs content (sum of lactucin and lactucopicrin) in various tissues of lettuce cultivated in spring season varied from 5.7 to 22.5 fold ranging from $27.4{\mu}g/g$ dry weight (DW) in the upper stem (cultivar "PI 176588") as the lowest to as high as $2,292.0{\mu}g/g$ DW in the inflorescence (cultivar "709849-1"). During autumn cultivation, the concentration of SLs varied from 2.0 to 14.4 fold ranging from as low of $32.4{\mu}g/g$ DW in the lower stem (cultivar "PI176588") to as high of $838.0{\mu}g/g$ DW in the upper leaf (cultivar "Dambaesangchu"). Higher lactucin (1.2 to 5.6 fold) and lactucopicrin (1.1 to 3.9 fold) concentration was observed during spring compared to autumn cultivation in most of the samples. SLs content in various organs of lettuce increases from the basal plant part going upwards. As lactucin and lactucopicrin are the major SLs which affects the sensory property of lettuce, their quantitative variation in the lettuce cultivars is useful for breeding new varieties with better consumer acceptance.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.1021-1027
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• 2020

The amount of food waste generated in Republic of Korea has been increasing alongside an increasing population and booming economy as such, research on effective treatment and recycling is required. Food waste recycling is complicated by its inferior characteristics such as high levels of water and concern that its continuous application to farmland can lead to salt accumulation and concomitant damage crops. In the present study, therefore, dehydrated food waste powder (FWP), which contains a large amount of organic matter and nutrients, but which may require additional improvements was mixed in various ratios with organic fertilizers and the mixtures were tested for their effects on the growth of the leaf lettuce. A control was set up with inorganic fertilizers alone while a treatment with only FWP was also included. The mixture of FWP and organic fertilizers produced better leaf lettuce growth in all the treatments than the control and FWP. The fresh weight of the leaf lettuce produced with a mixture containing 60% FWP was 50% higher than that of the control. The results from this study indicate, therefore, that FWP mixed with other organic supplements in appropriate amounts positively impacts crop growth and development.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2009

The compost leachate was dark-colored solution that leaches out of the bottom of the compost pile. The compost leachate was rich in nutrients and can potentially used in plant culture. In the organic production, commercial liquid fertilizer was used to insure the availability of nutrients during the formation of the yield. The cost of supplemental liquid fertilizer could be reduced by developing a fertilizer based on animal fertilizer. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different combination of compost leachate and conventional inorganic solution in hydroponic culture for lettuce growth. Six different treatments were applied. The compost leachate(CL) and nutrient solution(NS) were mixed by six different mixing ratios of 0:100, 20:80, 40:60, 60:40%, 80:20 and 100%:0% based on nitrogen content. The chemical nutrient solution was the solution of National Horticulture Research Station for the growth of leaf lettuce. The concentration of nutrient solution was adjusted 1.5 mS/cm in EC. The compost leachate was low in phosphorus(P), calcium(Ca), magnesium(Mg), but rich in potassium(K). The plant height of lettuce treated with CL 20+NS 80% was similar with 100% NS of control plot. Plant height was highest in the plot of CL 20+NS 80%. The treatment of 100% compost leachate was lowest in the growth characteristics of leaf lettuce. Number of leaf was very low in 100% compost leachate compared with plot of chemical nutrient solution. In the beginning of growth stage, SPAD value was reduced in plot treated with CL100%, but CL20+NS80% plot was higher compared to 100% compost leachate. SPAD value of leaf lettuce leaves was decreased as the amount of CL was increased. The dry weight of lettuce were 107.4, 104.2g in plot of NS 100% and CL 20%+NS80%, respectively. The leaf number and plant weight were decreased at high application plots of compost leachate. The leaf lettuce showed lowest in the plot treated with 100% compost leachate, and the growth of lettuce severely decreased after application of 100% CL treatment. The results showed that compost leachate can be use as liquid fertilizer for the organic hydroponic production. The mixture solution of 20% of compost leachate and 80% of nutrient solution could be used as a nutrition solution in hydroponic culture of leaf lettuce. Our studies have shown that is possible to produce using compost leachate, although growth is slower than when using a conventional inorganic hydroponic solution.