• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.631-639
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• 2011

This research was conducted to investigate potential use of New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonoides) as a new vegetable crop which will be cultivating in salt-affected soils including reclaimed land. Traditionally New Zealand spinach has been studied to explore functional compound or salt removing potential. To cultivate the crop species in the salt-affected soil widely, it is essential to obtain salt and soil texture responses under the controlled environment. Fifty nine New Zealand spinach ecotypes native to Korean peninsula first collected over seashore areas, and primitive habitat soil environment was evaluated by analyzing soil chemical properties from 32 locations. Different textures of sandy, silt loam, and sandy loam soils were prepared from nearby sources of sea shore, upland and paddy soils, respectively. Target salinity levels of 16.0 dS/m, 27.5 dS/m, 39.9 dS/m, and 52.4 dS/m in electrical conductivity (ECw) were achieved by diluting of 25, 50, 75, 100% (v/v) sea water to tap water (control, 0.6 dS/m), respectively. Various measurements responding to soil texture and irrigation salinity included plant height, root length, fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW), leaf parameters (leaf number, leaf length, leaf width), lateral branching, and inorganic ion content. was found to adapt to diverse habitats ranging various soil chemical properties including soil pH, organic matter, exchangeable bases, EC, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in Korea. Responding to soil texture, New Zealand spinach grew better in silt loam and sandy loam soil than in sandy soil. Higher yield (FW and DW) seemed to be associated with branch number (r=0.99 and 0.99, respectively), followed by plant height (r=0.94 and 0.97, respectively) and leaf number (r=0.89 and 0.84, respectively). Plant height, FW, and DW of the New Zealand spinach accessions were decreased with increasing irrigation salinity, while root length was not significantly different compared to control. Based on previous report, more narrow spectrum of salinity range (up to 16 dS/m) needs to be further studied in order to obtain more accurate salinity responses of the plant. As expected, leaf Na content was increased significantly with increasing salinity, while K and Ca contents decreased. Growth responses to soil texture and irrigation salinity implied the potential use of New Zealand spinach as a leafy vegetable in salt-affected soil constructed with silt loam or sandy loam soils.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.1171-1177
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• 2008

The performance of growing rabbits fed Ruzi grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis), head lettuce (Lactuca sativa) residue, Mimosa pigra and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) was studied in an experiment using 64 rabbits (4 males and 4 females per treatment) of 2 breeds, New Zealand White and a crossbred between New Zealand White and native breed. The rabbits had an average initial weight of 668 g, were about 6 weeks old and were housed in individual pens. The foliages were fed ad libitum and a commercial concentrate was fed at a restricted level of 2% of body weight on a dry matter (DM) basis. In the digestibility experiment, the rabbits, 4 per foliage and males only, were fed the same foliages as in the growth experiment but without concentrate. Daily weight gain was lower in the group fed Ruzi grass, 14.8 g/d (p<0.001) compared to 17.6, 18.5 and 18.4 g/d for head lettuce, Mimosa pigra and water spinach, respectively. Feed intake and feed conversion ratio were lowest for the rabbits fed water spinach, 66 g DM/d and 3.6 kg DM/kg live weight, respectively. The New Zealand White breed had a higher daily gain than the crossbred rabbits (p<0.05), 18.0 and 16.7 g/d, respectively. There were no significant differences in feed intake, growth or feed conversion ratio due to sex. The digestibility coefficients of DM, organic matter, crude protein, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were significantly lower (p<0.001) in the rabbits fed Ruzi grass. Breed and sex had no effect on digestibility. In conclusion, feeding head lettuce residue, Mimosa pigra and water spinach resulted in higher growth rate and digestibility than feeding Ruzi grass and can be recommended as alternative feeds.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.157-163
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the potential use of New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) as a new vegetable crop which will be cultivated in salt-affected soils such as reclaimed areas. New Zealand spinach ecotypes native to Korea were collected across the Southern, Western and Eastern seashore regions of the Korean peninsula, among which fifty-five accessions were later further propagated and evaluated genetically by using an AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) marker. Based on the AFLP analysis performed to uncover the genetic diversity of the collected ecotypes, enzymatic cleavage of the extracted DNA was implemented based on 12 EcoRI and MseI combinations. A total of 1,279 alleles (107 alleles per EcoRI and MseI enzyme combination) were successfully amplified, among which 62 alleles per enzyme combination were polymorphic (58%). The AFLP analysis indicated that the rate of genetic dissimilarity was 29% among the New Zealand spinach collections, which were clustered into the 7 genetic diversity group. This is the first report on the genetic variation in the genus Tetragonia, and the basic information can be applied to select parental lines for enhancing the segregation spectrum of the new halophytic vegetable plant grown in salt-affected areas.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.515-523
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• 2012

Recent development and enlargement of reclaimed lands along the sea shores required to explore alternatives to existing crops, which are suitable to grow well and to declare higher profits. The objectives of this study were to investigate yield-related parameters for development of new leafy vegetables, and to screen some candidates among New Zealand spinach genotypes which were collected in Korea. Initially all the collected genotypes were grown for 7 weeks in a greenhouse of the experiment field in Chungnam National University, and then transplanted into the field to measure morphological or physiological parameters (plant height, branch number, stem diameter, chlorophyll content, and maximum canopy diameter), and yield-related parameters (leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, fresh weight and dry weight). Those parameters were quantitatively measured at 1, 5 or 9 weeks after transplanting (WAT). Parameters exhibiting statistically significant difference among the accessions were plant height, branch number, maximum canopy diameter, chlorophyll content, and leaf length. In contrast to highly correlated parameters with fresh and dry weight obtained in salt-affected soil in the earlier report, fresh weight was correlated significantly with leaf length (r=0.72), leaf width (r=0.64), and canopy diameter(r=0.66), while dry weight was correlated significantly with plant height (r=0.46), leaf length (r=0.72), leaf width (r=0.73), fresh weight (r=0.79), chlorophyll content (r=0.47), and canopy diameter (r=0.87). Based on the significantly correlated with yield parameters, the candidate accessions which were ranked in top statistical groups include CNU06A01, CNU06A13, CNU06A26, CNU06A35, CNU06A38, and CNU06A55. In order to be cultivated in reclaimed lands, it is necessary to screen out salt tolerant accessions among the above high-yielding genotypes.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.9
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• pp.1-7
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• 1968

The action Spectra for violaxanthin de-epoxidation and zeaxanthin expoxidation in New Zealand spinach leaf segments Tetragonia expansa, were determined at equal incident quanta of $2.0{\times}10^{15}$ quanta $cm^{-2}$ $second^{-1}$. The action spectrum for de-epoxidation had major peaks at approximately 180 and 648 nm. Blue light was slightly more effective than red light and little activity was observed beyond 700 nm. The action spectrum for epoxidation showed major peaks at around 441 and 670 nm. Blue light was more effective than red light and light beyond 700 nm showed definite activity. The net result of de-epoxidation and epoxidation is a cyclic scheme, the violaxanthin cycle, which consumes $O_2$ and photoproducts. The action spectra indicate that the violaxanthin cycle is more active m clue than in red light and therefore could accout for $O_2$ uptake stimulated by blue light. The differences between the action spectra for de-epoxidation suggest that possibly two photosynthetic systems are involved. It was suggested that the violaxanthin cycle may functional a pathway for the consumption of excess photoproducts generated in blue light or the conversion of these photoproducts to other forms of energy.