Chinese cabbage grown during autumn season is confronted with drought conditions for a certain period,especially during the early growth stage. In this study, we investigated the effects of drought stress on plant growthcharacteristics, as well as free amino acid, carotenoid, and proline in Chinese cabbage. Chinese cabbage seeds (Bulam Plus)were germinated, and all the seedlings were transplanted into plastic containers (28 ㎝ diameter × 22 ㎝ high) containing acommercial growth medium. The soil water content was measured and maintained at 10% for the drought-stressed plantsand at 30% for the control plants, for three weeks. The results revealed that plant growth parameters were lower in thedrought-stressed plants than in the control plants. The total free amino acid content tended to decrease in bothdrought-stressed and control plants with time. The total free amino acid content was found to be lower in thedrought-stressed plants than in the control plants and the proline content was unaffected. Moreover, at three weeks aftertreatment, carotenoid content in drought stressed plants was significantly higher than that in the untreated plants. We believethat our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because the effects of drought stress on plant growthparameters, free amino acid, carotenoids, and proline accumulation in autumn growing cultivar of Chinese cabbage have notbeen widely studied in Korea, and our study provides valuable information in this regard, as Chinese cabbage is consumedthroughout the year in Korea.
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results and Discussion
Acknowledgements
References