Growth Characteristics by Plug Tray Cell Size, Soil Type, and Fertilizer Concentration for Plug Seedling Production of Veronica pusanensis Y.N. Lee

Abstract

Background and objective: This study was conducted to establish a stable seedling production system for Veronica pusanensis Y.N. Lee, a plant that is endemic to the Korean Peninsula and is a critically endangered species, distributed along the coast of Busan, Korea.Methods: In order to investigate the plug cell size (72, 128, 200 cells), soil type (commercial substrate, and mixed substrates with peat moss and perlite at ratios of 1:1, 3:1, and 4:1), and fertilizer concentration (Peters 0, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mg⋅L-1) conditions, the plug tray was filled with soil and seeds were sown. The sown trays were placed in the growth chamber (25°C, 70% RH, PPFD 100 μmol⋅m-2⋅s-1) for three repetitions per treatment.Results: There was no difference in the growth of seedlings according to plug cell size. Therefore, it appears to be economically superior to produce seedlings in a 200-cell plug tray. In soil type, the seedling growth increased as the ratio of peat increased, but leaf chlorosis occurred from the 7th week after sowing. Examining the growth of seedlings based on fertilizer concentration, the greatest increase in growth was found to have occurred in the 1,000 mg⋅L-1 treatment.Conclusion: Therefore, for the production of V. pusanesis seedlings, it was noted that when mixed soil with peatmoss and perlite at a ratio of 4:1 is filled in 200-cell plug trays, and the seedlings are fertilized with Peters 1,000 mg⋅L-1 once a week, growth will increase the most, demonstrating excellent cost-effectiveness. However, to mass-produce high-quality seedlings in a short period, it will be necessary to use a plug tray smaller than 200 cells or to conduct various fertilization composition studies.

Evaluation of Growth, Flowering, and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Responses of <italic>Viola cornuta</italic> cv. Penny Red Wing according to Spectral Power Distributions

“…Chlorophyll fluorescence analysis is one of the representative methods used to study plant stress responses (Guidi et al, 2019). It is a technique that analyzes the photosynthetic responses of plants by utilizing various parameters, including F v /F m , Φ Do , ABS/RC, DI o /RC, and PI ABS (Park et al, 2023), and has been proven useful through various studies (Kwon et al, 2021;Lee et al, 2021;2022b;Oh et al, 2021;. A biomass analysis, an older method applied to investigate whether plants have grown soundly, causes irreversible damage to plant roots because the plants are separated from the soil, and it has limitations in that it can only be performed on a one-off basis.…”

Growth Characteristics of <italic>Hemerocallis thunbergii</italic> Baker Seedlings depending on Cell Size in Sowing using Plug Trays

“…On the other hand, as Veronica pusanensis Y.N. Lee, which corresponds to the same genus as VPN, did not show a significant difference in the growth of seedlings according to plug cell size, it was found to be economically superior to produce its seedlings in a 200-cell plug tray with the smallest cell size of the experimental groups (Oh et al, 2022). As such, many studies have aimed to develop seedling technology using plug trays.…”