• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.103-109
• /
• 1997

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of root zone warming on rhizosphere temperature of Oriental melon (Cucumis melo L. var. Makuwa) in winter season. Root zone was warmed by hot water flowing through pipe set at 35cm depth from the ridge. Treatments of minimum soil temperature at 20cm depth were 17, 21, $25^{\circ}C$, and non-warmed from Jan. 18 to Apr. 18. The results are summarized as follows. 1. The cumulative soil temperature for 1 month after planting oriental melon was 441, 558, 648, and 735$^{\circ}C$ at control, 17, 21, and $25^{\circ}C$ plot, respectively. 2. As soil temperature was higher, air temperature in tunnel was higher. The lowest temperature in control plot at night was 9.5$^{\circ}C$, 11.$0^{\circ}C$ in 17$^{\circ}C$ plot, 13.5$^{\circ}C$ in 21$^{\circ}C$ plot, and 16.5$^{\circ}C$ in $25^{\circ}C$ plot, respectively. 3. The xylem exudate amount of control plot for 24 hours just after basal stem abscission was 8.1$m\ell$. It was 1.2 times higher in 17$^{\circ}C$ plot, 1.3 times higher in 21 $^{\circ}C$ plot, and 4.8 times higher in $25^{\circ}C$ plot than in control plot at 30 days after planting. The xylem exudate amount at 67 days after planting of control plot was 10.4$m\ell$, those of 17, 21, $25^{\circ}C$ plots were 1.1, 3.2, and 3.3 times as compared to control plot. 4, Early growth in leaf length, stem diameter, leaf number and leaf area for 30 days after planting were better in higher temperature plots than in control plot. Particularly, the increase of leaf area was striking in higher temperature plots. Leaf area of control plot was 279.5$\textrm{cm}^2$ for 30 days after planting, 153.4% in 17$^{\circ}C$ plot, 745.6% in 21$^{\circ}C$ plot and 879.4% in $25^{\circ}C$ plot were increased as compared to in control plot.