Growth and Fruit Characteristics of Seedless Watermelon Plants under Different Light Intensity Levels

Seung Mi Woo; Ji Heon Seo; Ju Hyung Jeong; Ho Cheol Kim

doi:10.12791/KSBEC.2025.34.4.510

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2025 Vol.34, Issue 4 Preview Page Next Page

Original Articles

Growth and Fruit Characteristics of Seedless Watermelon Plants under Different Light Intensity Levels 광량 수준에 따른 씨 없는 수박 식물체 생육과 과실 특성

31 October 2025. pp. 510-516

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Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different light environments on the vegetative and reproductive growth of seedless watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.), particularly on female flower initiation and fruit characteristics. The experiment was carried out in an unheated multi-span greenhouse at the Watermelon Research Station, Jeollabuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, using the small-fruited seedless cultivar ‘Black Boy’. Five light treatments were applied: natural light (NL), 70% and 30% shading of NL, and supplemental lighting (SL) at 120 and 240 PPFD. Air temperature and light intensity inside and outside the greenhouse were automatically recorded every 30 minutes from the first pollination to the pre-harvest period. Plant growth parameters and female flower occurrence were monitored weekly. The number of female flowers was most stable under the natural light condition and significantly decreased under shaded conditions. In particular, the 70% shading treatment resulted in the lowest number of female flowers throughout the experiment, whereas under the 240 PPFD supplemental lighting treatment, more than 3.5 female flowers per plant were observed around 40 days after transplanting. Under the greenhouse conditions of this study, fruit enlargement was markedly reduced under shading compared with the control, while no significant differences were observed among the supplemental lighting treatments. These results suggest that basic light conditions strongly influence reproductive growth and female flower differentiation. Therefore, in the cultivation of small and medium sized seedless watermelon under low light conditions, supplemental lighting can be effective in improving fruit set rate and subsequent fruit enlargement.

Keywords

hydroponics

LED

light intensity

seedless watermelon

본 연구는 광 환경 차이가 씨 없는 수박(Citrullus lanatus Thunb.)의 생육 및 생식 생장, 특히 암꽃 착생과 과실 특성에 미치는 영향을 규명하고자 수행되었다. 전라북도농업기술원 수박시험장 내 무가온 연동형 온실에서 소과종 씨 없는 수박 ‘블랙보이(Black Boy)’를 대상으로 자연광(NL), NL의 70% 및 30% 차광, 그리고 보광(Supplemental Light, SL) 120 및 240μmol·m^-2·s^-1의 총 5처리로 실험을 수행하였다. 온실 내·외부의 기온과 광량은 정식 후 첫 수정 시기부터 과실 수확 전까지 30분 간격으로 자동 저장되었으며, 식물체 생육 조사 및 암꽃 발생 관찰은 일주일 간격으로 측정하였다. 암꽃 발생 수는 자연광 조건에서 가장 안정적으로 나타났으며, 차광 처리 시 유의하게 감소하였다. 특히 70% 차광 처리구는 실험 기간 동안 가장 낮은 암꽃 발생 수였으며, 보광 처리구 중 240 PPFD 조건에서는 정식 후 40일 전후에 주당 평균 3.5개 이상의 암꽃이 발생하였다. 본 시험의 온실 환경 조건에서 과실비대는 대조구와 차광 처리구 간 뚜렷하게 감소하였으나 보광 처리구에서는 뚜렷한 차이를 나타내지 않았다. 이 결과는 기본으로 광량 조건이 생식 생장 유도 및 암꽃 분화에 영향을 미친다는 것을 나타낸다. 따라서 씨 없는 중·소형 수박 재배 시 저광 조건에서 보광은 착과율 증대와 이에 따른 과실비대에 효과가 있다고 판단된다.

키워드

광도

수경재배

씨 없는 수박

인공광

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Information

Publisher :The Korean Society for Bio-Environment Control
Publisher(Ko) :(사)한국생물환경조절학회
Journal Title :Journal of Bio-Environment Control
Journal Title(Ko) :생물환경조절학회지
Volume : 34
No :4
Pages :510-516
Received Date : 2025-10-02
Revised Date : 2025-10-27
Accepted Date : 2025-10-28
DOI :https://doi.org/10.12791/KSBEC.2025.34.4.510

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

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