Journal of Bio-Environment Control ISSN:1229-4675(Print) 2765-3641(Online) 생물환경조절학회지

This study was conducted to compare the effects of foliar spray and sub-irrigation of the triazole fungicide diniconazole on the regulation of stem elongation and to investigate the stimulation of root system development during the seedling stage. Comparing the two application approaches, there were significant differences in the leaf area, leaf area ratio (LAR), plant height, compactness, fresh shoot and root production, relative growth rate (RGR), and root to shoot ratio (R/S). At the same application concentration, the sub-irrigation showed a better retarding effect on growth than the foliar spray, because the PGR activity of diniconazole in root absorption was higher than that in shoot absorption. For reaching a target of 20% to 30% inhibition rate of stem length, foliar application concentration of diniconazole exceeded 10 , however, only approximately 1 was required in the sub-irrigation application. The root system of tomato seedlings responded strongly to diniconazole application. Total root length, root volume, root average diameter, and the number of root tips increased when diniconazole was sub-irrigation application at 1 . A reduction in fine roots (diameter range of 0 to 0.3 mm) and an increase in the roots with a diameter range of 0.3 to 0.6 mm was observed, and this may contribute to the increase in average diameter. The increase in root average diameter may be positive because root penetration increases with root diameter. Our results suggested that sub-irrigation maximized the PGR activity of diniconazole to enhance the retarding effect. And it also possible to enhance the tomato seedling root system by diniconazole stimulating with a lower concentration.