• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2011

In developing soil wetting agent using polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether (PNE) and polyoxyethylene castor oil (1:1; v/v), the effect of application rates on changes in concentration of PNE, initial wetting of peatmoss + perlite (7:3) medium, and growth of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L. 'Knockwang') plug seedlings were investigated. The elevation of application rates of wetting agent increased the amount of water retained by the root media. The treatment of 2.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ showed similar water retention to + control ($AquaGro^L$ 3.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$). Most of the liquid wetting agent (LWA) incorporated during the medium formulation leached out in the first and second irrigation, then it decreased gradually until 10 times in irrigation. In investigation of the influence of LWA on position of water infiltrating into root media, the vertical water movements in treatments of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ were much faster than those in 0.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ (-control), but relative speed of water movement decreased by the elevation in application rate of LWA to 2.0 or 2.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$. The evaporative water loss of root media that to contained various rate of LWA and irrigated to reach container capacity was the fastest in -control among the treatments and it delayed as the application rate of LWA was elevated. The plant height of 22.2 cm in 0.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and stem diameter of 3.26 mm in 1.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ were the highest among the treatments tested. The treatment of 1.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ also had the heaviest fresh and dry weights such among treatments tested as 3.08 g and 0.861 g per plant, respectively. The elevated application rate over than 1.5 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ resulted in decreased seedling growth. The results mentioned above indicate that optimum application rate of LWA is 1.0 $mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$.