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2026 Vol.35, Issue 2 Preview Page

Original Articles

Effects of Difference Between Day and Night Temperature (DIF) During the Nursery Stage on Morphogenesis, Post-transplant Growth, and Early Yield of Tomato

육묘기의 주·야간온도교차(DIF) 처리가 토마토 묘의 형태형성 및 정식 후 생육, 초기 수량에 미치는 영향

Jae Hyun Park1†
,
Sang Rim Kim1†
,
Faraaz Ahmed Mohammad1†
,
Ji Gu Lee1†
,
Mac Cheryl Sulan Charles Emparang1†
,
Min Geon Cho1†
,
Dae Geun Jeong1†
,
Min Jae Kim1†
,
Jum Soon Kang2*
박 재현1†
,
김 상림1†
,
모함마드 파라즈 아흐메드1†
,
이 지구1†
,
엠파랑 맥 셰릴 술란 찰스1†
,
조 민건1†
,
정 대근1†
,
김 민재1†
,
강 점순2*
1Graduate student, Department of Horticultural Bioscience, Pusan National University, Miryang 50463, Korea
2Professor, Department of Horticultural Bioscience, Pusan National University, Miryang 50463, Korea
1부산대학교 원예생명과학과 대학원생
2부산대학교 원예생명과학과 교수
*Corresponding Author
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
30 April 2026. pp. 139-153
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Abstract

This study investigated the effects of differential day–night temperature (DIF) regimes during the tomato seedling stage on seedling quality, post-transplant vegetative and reproductive development after transplanting, and early yield performance. Tomato seedlings were grown under four DIF treatments (+5, 0, －5, and －8°C), with growth responses varying substantially across the developmental stages. During early seedling growth, the +5°C DIF treatment promoted rapid leaf expansion and stem elongation. However, +5°C DIF treatment did not show consistently superior growth post-transplant. In contrast, the －5°C DIF treatment resulted in greater leaf area, fresh and dry biomass accumulation, and enhanced stem thickening and root development at the later phase of seedling. These responses indicate that －5°C DIF effectively suppressed excessive elongation while improving the balance between shoot and root growth, resulting in structurally robust seedlings. Carry-over effects of DIF treatments were evident after transplanting. Plants previously grown under －5 and －8°C DIF exhibited markedly accelerated harvest initiation, with >50% of plants producing marketable fruit by 7 weeks after transplanting, whereas no harvestable fruit was observed in the 0 and +5°C DIF treatments at this stage. Among all treatments, －5°C DIF resulted in the highest cumulative early yield. Therefore, the －5°C DIF regime was identified as the most effective environmental management strategy for producing compact, physiologically vigorous tomato seedlings that enhance post-transplant establishment, accelerate fruit harvest, and maximize early-season yield. Although －8°C DIF increased floral initiation, fruit-set efficiency was lower than that of the －5°C treatment. This response is attributed to competition for assimilates among developing sinks and increased variability in harvest progression among individual plants. This finding highlights the practical value of moderate negative DIF as a reliable technique for improving transplant quality and stabilizing early productivity in controlled-environment tomato production systems.

Keywords
carry-over effects
early yield
seedling quality
shoot-root balance
tomato seedling

본 연구는 토마토 육묘기에 적용한 DIF 처리가 묘소질과 정식 후 생육, 조기 수확성 및 초기 수량성에 미치는 영향을 구명하고자 수행되었다. 육묘기 DIF 처리 결과, 생육 단계에 따라 처리 간 반응이 상이하게 나타났다. 육묘 초기에는 +5 DIF 처리 조건에서 잎 전개와 초장 신장이 상대적으로 촉진되었으나, 육묘 후기에는 －5 DIF 처리구에서 엽면적, 생체중 및 건물중이 높았다. 특히 －5 DIF 처리는 초장 신장을 효과적으로 억제하면서 경직경 비대와 근장 발달을 동시에 유도하여, 지상부와 지하부 생육의 균형이 우수한 강건묘 형성에 가장 적합한 조건이었다. 육묘기 DIF 처리는 정식 이후 생육과 수량 형성 단계까지 지속적인 이월 효과를 나타냈다. DIF 처리의 경우, －5 및 －8 DIF 조건에서는 조기 수확성이 뚜렷하게 향상되었다. 대조구(0 DIF)와 +5 DIF 에서는 정식 후 7주차까지 수확이 되지 않는 반면, - DIF 처리구에서는 동일 시점에 전체 개체의 약 절반 이상에서 수확이 가능하여 수확 개시 시점이 최소 2주 이상 앞당겨졌다. 특히 －5 DIF 처리구는 정식 이후 영양생장과 생식생장의 균형이 안정적으로 유지되었으며, 그 결과 누적 수확량이 가장 높게 나타나 전반적인 생산 효율이 우수한 처리로 평가되었다. 이상의 결과로 토마토 육묘기 －5 DIF 환경 관리가 묘의 초형을 안정적으로 제어하면서도 정식 후 초기 활착을 개선하고, 수확 시기를 단축하며 초기 수량성을 극대화할 수 있는 가장 효과적인 재배 관리 전략으로 판단된다.

키워드
이월효과
조기 수확량
지상지하부 균형
토마토묘
묘질
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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 : 35
  • No :2
  • Pages :139-153
  • Received Date : 2026-02-19
  • Revised Date : 2026-04-06
  • Accepted Date : 2026-04-28
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.12791/KSBEC.2026.35.2.139
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