Abstract
This study was conducted to improve the yield and quality of red chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) and garland chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.) grown in a plant factory where fluorescent lamps were used as an artificial light source. Seeds of a chicory ‘Juck’ and garland chrysanthemum ‘Joongyupssuckgot’ were sown in a peat-lite germination mix. Twenty-day old seedlings with roots being washed off were anchored on a styrofoam board and were grown in hydroponics for 30 days. Plants were exposed to one of the three different air temperature regimes (20, 25, and 30°C during the day combined with 18°C during the night) which were being monitored with a sensor at 30 cm above the plant canopy. In all treatments, light intensity was maintained at 200 ± 20 μmol·m−2·s−1, day length was 12 hours, and relative humidity was 50–80%. Electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of the nutrient solution were 2.0 ± 0.2 dS·m−1 and 6.5–7.0, respectively, in all treatments. Increase in fresh weight was observed in chicory, but not in garland chrysanthemum, in both 25 and 30°C as compared to 20°C. Photosynthetic capacity and ascorbic acid content of chicory leaves were higher at 25°C than in other temperatures. In garland chrysanthemum, photosynthetic capacity was the greatest in both 20 and 25°C, while ascorbic acid content was the greatest in 25°C. Also plants grown at 25°C had the greatest contents of total phenol and flavonoid in both chicory and garland chrysanthemum. Hence, the optimum temperature appears to be 25°C for growing both chicory and garland chrysanthemum in the plant factory with fluorescent light as the sole souse of light.
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