Background Phenological studies are a prerequisite for accomplishing higher productivity and better crop quality in cultivated plants. However, there are no phenological studies on Panax ginseng that improve its production yield. This study aims to redefine the phenological growth stages of P. ginseng based on the existing Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und Chemische Industrie (BBCH) scale and proposes a disease control reference. Methods This study was conducted at the Korea Ginseng Corporation Experiment Station in Gyeonggi province, South Korea. Phenological observations were performed once weekly or twice monthly, based on the developmental stages. The existing BBCH scale with a three-digit code was used to redefine and update P. ginseng ’s phenological growth codes. Results The phenological description is divided into eight principal growth stages: three for vegetative growth (perennating bud, aerial shoot, and root development), four for reproductive growth (reproductive organ development, flowering, fruit development, and fruit maturation), and one for senescence according to the extended BBCH scale. A total of 58 secondary growth stages were described within the eight principal growth stages. Under each secondary growth stage, four mesostages are also taken into account, which contains the distinct patterns of the phenological characteristics in ginseng varieties and the process of transplanting seedlings. A practical management program for disease control was also proposed by using the BBCH code and the phenological data proposed in this work. Conclusion The study introduces an extended BBCH scale for the phenological research of P. ginseng .

Ginseng ( Panax ginseng ) has been used as a valuable medicinal plant in Asia, and the demand for ginseng production for health functional food is increasing worldwide after the COVID-19 crisis. Although a number of cultivars have been developed to increase ginseng production, none of them were widely cultivated in Korea because they could not resist various environmental stresses while being grown in one place for at least 4 years. To address this, Sunhong was developed as a ginseng cultivar with high yield and multiple stress tolerance by pure line selection. Sunhong showed high yield and heat tolerance comparable to Yunpoong, a representative high-yielding cultivar, and exhibited 1.4 times lower prevalence of rusty roots than Yunpoong, suggesting that Sunhong can keep its high yield and quality during long-term cultivation. In addition, distinct color and lodging resistance were expected to increase the convenience of cultivation. To supply pure seeds to farmers, we also established a reliable high-throughput authentication system for Sunhong and seven ginseng cultivars through genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) analysis. The GBS approach enabled to identify a sufficient number of informative SNPs in ginseng, a heterozygous and polyploid species. These results contribute to the improvement of yield, quality, and homogeneity, and therefore promote the ginseng industry. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13580-023-00526-x.

BACKGROUND: Bradysia procera, a ginseng stem fungus gnat, is one of the most serious insect pests of Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng), causing significant damage to plant growth. The goal of this study was to determine the toxicity and mechanism of action of phenylpropanoids (trans-anethole and estragole) isolated from the methanol extract and hydrodistillate of Illicium verum fruit against third-instar larvae and eggs of Bradysia procera. RESULTS:The filter-paper mortality bioassay revealed that estragole [median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) = 4.68 g/cm 2 ] has a significant fumigant effect, followed by trans-anethole (LC 50 = 43.92 g/cm 2 ). However, estragole had the lowest toxic effect when compared to commercially available insecticides. After 7 days, estragole and trans-anethole at 75 g/cm 2 inhibited egg hatchability up to 97% and 93%, respectively. At 0.09 g/cm 2 , insecticides had an inhibitory effect on egg-hatching ability ranging from 88% to 94%. Furthermore, in both closed and open containers, these active constituents were able to consistently induce vapor-phased toxicity. Both estragole and trans-anethole have the ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is involved in neurotransmitter function. However, the active constituent estragole from I. verum fruit acted as a potent AChE inhibitor and had a slightly lower effect on cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) than octopamine alone.CONCLUSION: This finding suggests that estragole may influence Bradysia procera neurotransmitter function via both the AChE and octopaminergic receptors. More research is needed to demonstrate the potential applications of I. verum fruit-derived products as potential larvicides and ovicides for Bradysia procera population control.