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The effect of transplant age on vegetable growth characteristic in a cylindrical paper pot system

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Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the seedling performance of cylindrical paper pot (CPP) seedlings and to determine the optimal transplanting age of CPP seedlings based on seedling vigor. The studied vegetables were cucumber, tomato, paprika, and two varieties of cabbage, and the younger seedlings were obtained by shortening their raising period by 10 and 20 days with CPP. At the same transplanting age, the size of CPP seedlings was smaller pre-transplant but increased to a similar level to the plug seedlings soon after transplanting. The growth curves of leaf area and dry weight of younger CPP seedlings exhibited a steeper rise trend. The seedling vigor indicators, relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR), were significantly increased in younger CPP seedlings of all vegetables, which were 10 or 20 days younger than plug seedlings. The compactness (CP) and seedling health index (SHI) of cucumber, and the leaf area ratio (LAR) and specific leaf area (SLA) of cabbage were significantly increased when shortened by 10 and 20 days, while the CP and SHI of paprika were significantly decreased when shortened by 20 days. Our results suggest that CPP may prevent the seedlings from overstretching and can provide a wild range of transplanting age choices to produce vigorous seedlings. Further, the seedling vigor indicators were successfully used to determine the transplanting age of CPP seedlings. The optimal transplanting age of CPP seedlings of tomato, paprika, and cabbage was 10 days younger than plug seedlings, whereas cucumber transplanting age could be decreased by either 10 or 20 days.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported as a Rural Development Administration joint project (Project Number: PJ012827022020).

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CX and DCJ conceived of the presented idea. CX developed the theory and performed the computations. JYH, NTV and KYC verified the analytical methods. ISK encouraged CX to investigate and supervised the findings of this work. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript. CX and DCJ carried out the experiment. CX wrote the manuscript with support from JYH, NTV and KYC. DCJ conceived the original idea. ISK supervised the project. CX developed the theoretical formalism, performed the analytic calculations and performed the numerical simulations. CX, SHK and JKK performed the measurements, DCJ and ISK were involved in planning and supervised the work, CX, SHK and JKK processed the experimental data, performed the analysis, drafted the manuscript and designed the figures. CX, SHK, JKK, JYH, NTV, KYC, ISK and DCJ contributed to the design and implementation of the research, to the analysis of the results and to the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dong Cheol Jang.

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Communicated by Jun Gu Lee, Ph.D.

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Xu, C., Kim, S.H., Kim, J.K. et al. The effect of transplant age on vegetable growth characteristic in a cylindrical paper pot system. Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 62, 313–323 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-020-00318-7

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