Articles
Morphological characteristics and quality of grafted watermelon seedlings healing under different light qualities
Article number
1337_46
Pages
341 – 346
Language
English
Abstract
Propagation of watermelon is mainly carried out through grafting.
The period of healing is critical for the development of healthy grafted seedlings of high quality.
In this study the grafted seedlings were grown in a chamber with controlled conditions and artificial light during healing.
The aim of the present study was to test the effect of LED lights with various wavelengths on several morphological characteristics of grafted watermelon seedlings during healing.
In the healing chamber, temperature was set at 25°C, relative air humidity at 89-98%, photoperiod at 16 h and PPFD was maintained at 85±5 μmol m‑2 s‑1. Seedlings were irradiated either by FL lamps (control) or by LED lights with various wavelengths (different B/R ratios). Determinations included overground and root system parameters.
It should be noted that at the time of grafting the entire root system was removed and its re-growth was enhanced by the abovementioned LEDs.
Red LED and red supplemented with blue enhanced several morphological characteristics such as leaf area, stem diameter, as well as root development, which are an indicator of the seedlings quality.
On the contrary, blue LED alone did not perform as good as the abovementioned LEDs.
Moreover, traditional FL lamps reduced seedling quality both overground and underground.
The results indicate that blue light is needed in addition to red light during the healing of grafted watermelon seedlings.
The period of healing is critical for the development of healthy grafted seedlings of high quality.
In this study the grafted seedlings were grown in a chamber with controlled conditions and artificial light during healing.
The aim of the present study was to test the effect of LED lights with various wavelengths on several morphological characteristics of grafted watermelon seedlings during healing.
In the healing chamber, temperature was set at 25°C, relative air humidity at 89-98%, photoperiod at 16 h and PPFD was maintained at 85±5 μmol m‑2 s‑1. Seedlings were irradiated either by FL lamps (control) or by LED lights with various wavelengths (different B/R ratios). Determinations included overground and root system parameters.
It should be noted that at the time of grafting the entire root system was removed and its re-growth was enhanced by the abovementioned LEDs.
Red LED and red supplemented with blue enhanced several morphological characteristics such as leaf area, stem diameter, as well as root development, which are an indicator of the seedlings quality.
On the contrary, blue LED alone did not perform as good as the abovementioned LEDs.
Moreover, traditional FL lamps reduced seedling quality both overground and underground.
The results indicate that blue light is needed in addition to red light during the healing of grafted watermelon seedlings.
Authors
F. Bantis, A. Koukounaras, A. Siomos, C. Dangitsis, D. Kintzonidis
Keywords
Citrullus lanatus, vegetable grafting, scion, light-emitting diodes, root system
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