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2025 Vol.43, Issue 1 Preview Page

Research Article

Effects of Controlled Irrigation Frequencies Using Load Cells on Growth and Abscission of Apical Meristems in Different Strawberry Varieties
Saleha Farjana1
,
In Sook Park1
,
Jong Myung Choi1*
1Department of Horticultural Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea
*Corresponding Author
28 February 2025. pp. 110-124
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Abstract

Seedlings were planted in trays of 24 cells filled with a commercial root medium (total porosity, container capacity, and air-filled porosity were 83.9, 74.2, and 9.7%, respectively). The load cells were calibrated to 4 different irrigation frequencies (55, 48, 41, and 34%). Fertigation was started at 10 days after seedling transplantation, and the solutions contained N-P2O5-K2O (18-18-18, Haifa Chemicals Ltd.) in all the treatments with different frequencies until transplanting to plastic boxes. Sixty days old seedlings were then transplanted to rectangular sized plastic boxes filled with the same root medium and allowed to grow for another 60 days with equal fertigation levels in all the treatments. The emergence of inflorescence and abscission of apical meristems was investigated visually while the plants were growing. Data on growth and tissue nutrient contents of the mother plants and the root medium chemical properties were analyzed. The premature deterioration of shoot apical meristems was highly significant, and the maximum was found in plants with an irrigation frequency of 34% in each cultivar. Data on the root medium pH among the treatments (5.41–6.07) were statistically significant. The greatest growth of seedlings in terms of dry weight was observed in plants with an irrigation frequency of 55%; on the other hand, the lowest growth was in those with an irrigation frequency of 34%. Furthermore, the tissue nutrient content of ‘Altaking’, ‘Keumsil’ and ‘Vitaberry’ strawberries was statistically significant, and the highest was in 55% group; in contrast, the lowest was in the 34% group. In addition, the tissue N content of the ‘Altaking’, ‘Keumsil’ and ‘Vitaberry’ strawberries at their highest growth was 3.76, 3.65, and 3.68%, respectively, and the maximum abscission of the apical meristems was 2.60, 2.54, and 2.58%, respectively, based on the dry weight of the aboveground tissue. However, significant differences were observed in the dry weights of the seedlings and the abscission of the apical meristems among the treatments of the irrigation set points in all strawberry cultivars tested. The above results indicate that the flower bud differentiation, abscission of apical meristems, and growth of strawberry seedlings were influenced by the irrigation frequencies, and the set-point of 55% in irrigation showed the best results.

Keywords
dry weight
flower bud differentiation
irrigation set points
mother plant growth
tissue nutrient contents
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Information
  • Publisher :KOREAN SOCIETY FOR HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국원예학회
  • Journal Title :Horticultural Science and Technology
  • Journal Title(Ko) :원예과학기술지
  • Volume : 43
  • No :1
  • Pages :110-124
  • Received Date : 2024-04-04
  • Revised Date : 2024-07-05
  • Accepted Date : 2024-07-26
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7235/HORT.20250014
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