• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.701-706
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• 2014

Three highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum cvs. Bluecrop, Coville, and Northland) grown in an open field and in a rain shelter were compared to evaluate the potential benefits of rain-sheltering systems on growth and fruit quality. Shrubs grown in rain shelter flowered 5-14 days earlier and were in full bloom earlier than those in the open field. All three cultivars set fruit by nearly 90% of flowers when they were grown in the open field, but was markedly reduced when they were grown in the rain shelter, to approximately 50% for 'Bluecrop' and 'Coville'. Fruit sets ratio of 'Northland' grown in the in the rain shelter was 14.5. Fruit from greenhouse-grown 'Northland' were larger, heavier, and had more seeds per berry. Soluble sugar content (SSC) of fruits varied both with the cultivars and growing conditions. SSC of fruits grown in the greenhouse was higher in 'Bluecrop' compared to that grown in the field, but this pattern was reversed in 'Northland'. Titratable acid was significantly higher in fruits from rain shelter-grown shrubs of both 'Bluecrop' and 'Northland' than in fruits from open field-grown shrubs (P < 0.05), although there was no difference in TA with respect to growing conditions for 'Coville'. The number of seed per fruit, fruit length and diameter, weight, SSC, and TA were similar in 'Coville' shrubs grown in the open field and the rain shelter. Fruit firmness of 'Bluecrop', 'Coville', and 'Northland' was higher in the rain shelter than in the open field. 'Coville' and 'Northland' fruits harvested in the open field had higher blue chroma than those harvested in the rain shelter. However, this pattern was reversed for 'Bluecrop'. On the whole, sheltering from rain affected most fruit characteristics of the three cultivars differently. Therefore, suitable blueberry cultivars for the rain shelter should be chosen by purpose.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.275-283
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• 2007

This study was carried out to: (1) analyze structural stability of representative rain-sheltering greenhouses for large-grain grapevine cultivation with widths of 3.6 m and 5 m in case of using the existing pipe for agriculture; (2) present the optimum specification of pipes in the greenhouse with a width of 5 m under the condition of using the pipe of which ultimate strength has been above $400N{\cdot}mm^{-2}$; (3) evaluate stability and also present the optimum specification of pipes as eaves height was augmented. The above analyses were done for greenhouses with roof vents and also with a main-column interval of 3 m and a rafter interval of 60 cm. First, the existing 3.6 m greenhouse with a rafter of ${\Phi}25.4{\times}1.5t@600$ was stable far a snow-depth of 35 cm but unstable for a wind velocity of $35m{\cdot}s^{-1}$. Meanwhile the existing 5 m greenhouse with the same rafter was not stable for a wind velocity of $335m{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as well as a snow-depth of 35 cm. This meant that existing greenhouses had to be reinforced to secure stability. Second, the specification of pipes, especially rafter, could be classified as two cases. One had a structural stability at a safe wind velocity of $35m{\cdot}s^{-1}$ and a safe snow-depth of 40 cm for which stability the rafter had to be ${\Phi}31.8{\times}1.5t@600$, and the other had a stability at $30m{\cdot}s^{-1}-35cm$ at the specification of rafter ${\Phi}25.4{\times}1.5t@600$. Finally, eaves height had a significant effect on safe wind velocity. But it had little influence on safe snow-depth. The results showed that the specification of side-wall pipes had to be reinforced for the safe side velocity accord-ing to the increment of eaves height and similarly the specification of fore-end post far the safe fore-end velocity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bio-Environment Control Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.299-308
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• 2007