초록 열기/닫기 버튼
Background: Abrupt cold, especially frost after seedling emergence, in spring causes servere losses in ginseng yield as it is a perennial crop and has a determinate growth. Although abnormal temperature occurs more frequently, the physiological aspects of ginseng to cold stress are poorly understood. Here we report the freezing response of ginseng under artificial conditions. Methods and Results: Cold treatment at -4℃ for 16 h resulted in a 21.4% damage rate in a cold chamber, however, no damage was observed at -2℃ and -4℃ for 2, 4, 6, or 8 h. High humidity increased the damage rate to 59.9% even at the higher temperature (RH 95%, -3℃) than the ambient temperature (RH 66%, -4℃) of the cold chamber. Seedlings early in the leaf expansion were damaged more than older ones. The quantum yield (Fv/Fm) of cold-damaged seedlings was lower than the control or seedlings without visual symptoms. The root weight of a damaged seedling one month after cold treatment was 58% of control. Conclusions: Our results suggested that visual symptoms are correlated with photosynthetic ability and yield after freezing stress in ginseng. We expect our results to contribute to the further understanding of ginseng freezing stress.
