Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc) is a spice produced from underground rhizomes. This makes it necessary to consider the size of its growing area. There is limited information on the phenological development of the pl...Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc) is a spice produced from underground rhizomes. This makes it necessary to consider the size of its growing area. There is limited information on the phenological development of the plant in containerized greenhouse conditions in temperate regions where natural daylength decreases as the growing season advances. This study determined the effects of container and rhizome sources on ginger shoot growth, chlorophyll concentration, leaf chlorophyll index, transpiration rate, and rhizome yield. Ginger, from non-tissue culture (O1) and tissue culture (O2) origins, were transplanted in a greenhouse in June 2019, 2020 and 2021, and monitored in five container types of different sizes. These were (C1) plastic Supertub (113.2 L), (C2) large Sterilite box (55.3 L), (C3) small Sterilite box (36.7 L), (C4) Husky heavy duty contractor plastic clean up bags (26.3 L) and (C5) Root Trapper Grounder Squat bag (27.9 L). The results did not show consistent trends for the effects of the respective size and origin combinations on most of the morphological characteristics, and all the physiological characteristics evaluated. Increasing container size increased the shoot biomass in all studies and increased fresh rhizome yield in two of three studies in the greenhouse. The effect of transplant origin was inconclusive, with a tissue culture advantage one year and no effect the other year. During the first 5 months after transplanting, the morphological development of tillers and height increased. Leaf chlorophyll index, chlorophyll concentration and stomatal conductance varied across sampling months, and within container and rhizome origin at individual sampling dates. The development of the plants in a greenhouse with decreasing natural day length posed a challenge as some plants senesced within 5 months after transplanting. Further opportunities to arrest senescence and extend growth should be introduced as another approach to extend growth and increase rhizome yield.展开更多
文摘Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc) is a spice produced from underground rhizomes. This makes it necessary to consider the size of its growing area. There is limited information on the phenological development of the plant in containerized greenhouse conditions in temperate regions where natural daylength decreases as the growing season advances. This study determined the effects of container and rhizome sources on ginger shoot growth, chlorophyll concentration, leaf chlorophyll index, transpiration rate, and rhizome yield. Ginger, from non-tissue culture (O1) and tissue culture (O2) origins, were transplanted in a greenhouse in June 2019, 2020 and 2021, and monitored in five container types of different sizes. These were (C1) plastic Supertub (113.2 L), (C2) large Sterilite box (55.3 L), (C3) small Sterilite box (36.7 L), (C4) Husky heavy duty contractor plastic clean up bags (26.3 L) and (C5) Root Trapper Grounder Squat bag (27.9 L). The results did not show consistent trends for the effects of the respective size and origin combinations on most of the morphological characteristics, and all the physiological characteristics evaluated. Increasing container size increased the shoot biomass in all studies and increased fresh rhizome yield in two of three studies in the greenhouse. The effect of transplant origin was inconclusive, with a tissue culture advantage one year and no effect the other year. During the first 5 months after transplanting, the morphological development of tillers and height increased. Leaf chlorophyll index, chlorophyll concentration and stomatal conductance varied across sampling months, and within container and rhizome origin at individual sampling dates. The development of the plants in a greenhouse with decreasing natural day length posed a challenge as some plants senesced within 5 months after transplanting. Further opportunities to arrest senescence and extend growth should be introduced as another approach to extend growth and increase rhizome yield.