The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal sowing date for the spring sowing cultivation of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). To determine suitable rapeseed sowing dates for spring sowing cultivation, changes in growth, flowering characteristics, and seed production were investigated in Muan, South Korea between 2019 and 2020. ‘Jungmo7001’ is the suitable variety for spring sowing because of its early flowering characteristics, high seed yield, and the fact that it occupies the highest cultivation area in South Korea. When the yield of ‘Jungmo7001’ was investigated in 2019 and 2020, the highest yields recorded were 243 kg/10a in February 28, 2019, and 294 kg/10a in February 18, 2020. As a result, the optimal rapeseed seeding period is considered to be mid-to-late February in the southern region. There was no statistically significant difference in seed crude oil content. The content of oleic acid (C18:1) decreased, but that of linoleic acid (C18:2) and of linolenic acid (C18:3) increased significantly depending on the sowing date.

Apios americana Medik, commonly known as American groundnut, is a leguminous perennial vine crop native to North America and is cultivated in Japan and Korea (Chu et al. 2019). Its tubers are edible and believed to be very nutritious, especially for women just after childbirth. The tubers also contain secondary metabolites, saponin and genistein, which is good for human health (Ichige et al. 2013). However, the storage of tubers at inappropriate temperatures and humidity levels can cause severe fungal infection, and adversely affect tuber quality. During March and April 2020, a white to pale-orange fungal mycelia were observed on stored American groundnut tubers, with 10 to 15% of seed tubers rotten. Infected tubers were collected, and fungal isolates were isolated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) using the single spore isolation method (Leslie and Summerell 2006). A pure culture (isolate JC20003) was obtained and stored at the Bioenergy Crop Research Institute, NICS, Muan, Republic of Korea. The fungus was cultured on PDA and V8 liquid media for 7 days at 25℃ to observe its morphological characteristics. The length and width of macroconidia ranged from 20.6 to 52.9 μm and 2.9 to 5.1 μm, respectively (n = 30). The microconidia were 8.5 to 14.9 μm and 2.3 to 4.2 μm in length and width, respectively (n = 30). Macroconidia were broadly falcate, strongly septate, 2 to 6 septations with dorsiventral curvature; chlamydospores were formed in chains; and microconidia were fusiform with 0 to 1 septation observed. Genomic DNA of the isolate was extracted using Solgent DNA extraction kit (Solgent, Daejeon, Korea), followed by PCR analysis using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS5/ITS4) and elongation factor (EF-1/EF2) genes (White et al. 1990; O'Donnel 2000). PCR products were sequenced and analyzed to confirm species identity (Yang et al. 2018). These sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession numbers MT703859/ITS and MT731939/EF). BLASTn search analysis showed 100% sequence similarity with Fusarium acuminatum (isolates N-51-1/ITS and WXWH24/EF). Based on morphological and molecular data analysis, the fungus was identified as F. acuminatum (Leslie and Summerell 2006; Marin et al. 2012). Pathogenicity tests were conducted on five tubers inoculated with 5 mm mycelial plugs with three replicates, while a non-mycelial plug served as the control. After 5 days of incubation in plastic containers at 25 °C with high humidity, typical symptoms developed. No symptoms were observed on the control tubers; F. acuminatum was re-isolated from artificially inoculated tubers to complete Koch's postulates. This is the first report on post-harvest tuber rot caused by F. acuminatum in Apios americana.

Sugar is essential for maintaining human life.However, excessive consumption of refined sugar causes obesity and diabetes.Recently, the demand for natural sugar is increasing.In this study, extracted sweet sorghum juice was first treated at high temperature to remove impurities and produce high-quality sweet sorghum syrup, and its physicochemical properties were analyzed by various temperature ranges.While purifying the sweet sorghum juice at various temperatures, the quantum of impurities was observed to be highest at 120°C and decreased at 130°C.The correlation between the sugar content and pH of the sweet sorghum juice was investigated, and the pH decreased as the temperature increased.In addition, the higher the reaction temperature and the longer the reaction time, the higher the juice's brownness and the higher the content of fructose and glucose.At the same time, sucrose content was reduced.Finally, the sweet sorghum juice should be treated at 120°C for 30 minutes to 1 hour to attain the highest efficiency in removing impurities and to improve the quality of the sweet sorghum syrup.

BACKGROUND:With a growing market for functional foods, the nutraceutical properties of hemp sprouts have been investigated in recent studies. However, commercial mass production methods have yet to be developed. This study aimed to identify seed sizes suitable for segregating ripe seeds, which would improve the low germination rate in the high seed densities used in commercial hemp sprout production. RESULTS:Seeds ranging in size from 2.80 to 3.3 mm, collected by sieving, were the most suitable for sprouting, based on the distribution rate (74.9%) and germination rate (70.0%) at a low seed density (0.016 grains mm-2 ). Seed segregation by sinking the seeds in 70% ethanol after 2 h or more of water infiltration generated high germination rates of 86.3% to 94.3% at low seed density, compared to a 64.0% germination rate in non-segregated seeds. The hemp seed germination rate decreased geometrically with increasing sowing density. The germination rate with a high seed density (0.29 grains mm-2 ) was increased from 19.9% when seeds were not mixed with sand to 58.7% when mixed with sand in a 3:1 ratio. The sprouting yield significantly increased from 1.64 kg kg-1 when seeds were not mixed with sand to 9.55 kg kg-1 in seeds germinating when mixed with sand. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol was not detected in hemp sprout. CONCLUSION:The production of hemp sprouts may be improved by identifying suitable seed sizes, segregating ripe seeds, and germinating seeds mixed with sand. This can be used in the commercial production of hemp sprouts. The sprouts were also found to be safe and without hallucinogenic effects. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

This study was conducted to investigate single crossing condition of M. sacchariflrous and M. sinensis for breeding of M. x giganteus cultivar. Compared with natural day length condition, cultivation in short day length condition shorten days to heading to 18~27 days in both species. Pollen germination ratio of were 75.8% at 6 o’clock in M. sacchariflorus and 51.9% at 7 o’clock in M. sinensis but decreased to below 10% at 8 o’clock in both species. When cut ears immerged in 150 mL of cut-flowers conservation solution and isolated with covering of white non-woven fabric, flowering and pollen dispersal were persisted for 7 days, and the ratio of pollen germination were above 40% for 4 days. The ratio of self-fertilization of both species were below 2.5%, but open pollenation ratio were above 50%. We obtained 437 seeds with experimental single cross of 14 combinations between tetraploid M. sacchariflorus and diploid M. siensis by application of developed single crossing methods. In the single cross, numbers of seed set were different by mother plants. Thus, the newly investigated single crossing condition will be used to breed M. x giganteous cultivar which is sterile and has superior characteristics of biomass yield.

The use of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) or leaf mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern) meal or both as organic fertilizer not only improves the soil environment and crop productivity by supplying nutrients but also has nematicidal effects. This study aimed to establish the optimal application levels of rapeseed and leaf mustard meal for stronger nematode control in tomato. Tomato is one of the most important solanaceous crops which is severely damaged by nematodes. At first, meal (120 g of varying mixing ratios of rapeseed and leaf mustard meal) was mixed with sterilized soil (1 kg). The optimal ratio of rapeseed:leaf mustard meal for effective nematode control was 20:100 g/kg of soil. Progoitrin and gluconapin were the most abundant glucosinolates found in rapeseed meal, while sinigrin was the most abundant in leaf mustard meal. The amount of sinigrin increased if the leaf mustard meal proportion increased in the meal mixture. Although the content of sinigrin in optimal ratio mixture of rapeseed and leaf mustard meal is lower than only leaf mustard meal, it is presumed that nematocidal effects of the mixture are better than that of the single component due to the high contents of progoitrin and gluconapin. So, we propose that rapeseed and leaf mustard meal mixture at an appropriate ratio can be used as an environmentally friendly nematocide.

Lignin nano-/microstructures are widely employed for agricultural drug delivery and heavy metal removal from wastewater, and facile low-cost methods of their large-scale production are therefore highly sought after. Herein, uniform-morphology polydisperse lignin microspheres were directly extracted from black liquor by lowering its pH to < 4 followed by hydrothermal treatment and featured several lignin-typical characteristics, e.g., functional groups, thermal stability, amorphousness, and monolignol units. It was assumed that lignin rearranged and assembled into microspheres of various size, shape, and uniformity depending on pH, temperature, and hydrothermal treatment time. Lignin microsphere extraction efficiency was estimated as 15.87-21.62 g L-1 , and the average size of microspheres obtained under different conditions was calculated as similar to 1 mu m, while the C, H, o, and N contents equaled 48-62, 5-6, 30-36, and 0.2-1.5%, respectively. Thus, our method was deemed suitable for direct large-scale extraction of lignin microspheres from black liquor.

생식생장기 장기간의 건조와 침수 스트레스 하에서 물억새와 거대1호의 생육 및 양분함량 변화를 비교분석한 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 건조 처리에 의한 두 억새 종의 형태적 특성 변화는 없었으나, 침수 처리에 의해 거대1호의 초장은 256.6 ㎝로 증가하였으며 마디수 또한 16.8개로 증가하였다. 2. 물억새의 출수율은 건조 조건에서 18.9%로 감소하였으나 침수 조건에서는 대조구와 통계적 유의성을 보이지 않았다. 거대1호는 대조구와 건조구에서 모두 출수하지 않았으며, 침수처리에 의해 48.6%의 출수율을 보였다. 3. 주요 양분인 유리당, 전질소, 인산, 칼륨, 마그네슘은 두 억새 모두 건조처리구에서 가장 높았으며, 칼슘과 마그네슘의 경우 침수처리구에서 두 억새 모두 3배 이상 감소하였다. 4. 이러한 양분 변화는 건조처리에 의해 억새의 노화가 촉진되어 양분 이동이 저해된 결과로 사료되며, 침수처리는 거대1호의 출수를 촉진한다는 결과를 처음으로 확인하였다.