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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2019, Vol. 18 Issue (11): 2521-2533    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(19)62671-7
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Modelling seedling development using thermal effectiveness and photosynthetically active radiation
ZHOU Tian-mei1, 5*, WU Zhen1*, WANG Ya-chen1, SU Xiao-jun2, QIN Chao-xuan3, HUO He-qiang4, JIANG Fang-ling1
1 College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.China
2 Institute of Vegetables, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, P.R.China
3 Machinery Institute, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, P.R.China
4 Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Apopka 32703, USA
5 Taicang Agricultural Technology Extension Center, Taicang 215400, P.R.China
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Abstract  
Seedling quality is a prerequisite for successful field performance and therefore influences crop yields.  Temperature and illumination are two major factors affecting seedling quality during nursery propagation.  Suboptimal temperature or light of nurseries generally result in leggy or weak seedlings and great economic loss.  However, production of healthy seedlings is challenging due to the lack of knowledge in systemic management of nursery environments.  In this study, we have established simulation models to predict how temperature and illumination coordinately influence the growth of tomato and cabbage seedlings.  Specifically, correlation between seedling quality characteristics (root-shoot ratio, G value (growth function: defined as ratio of whole plant dry weight to days of seedling), healthy indexes) and TEP (thermal effectiveness and photosynthetically active radiation) were explored to establish the models, which were validated with independent test data.  Our results suggested that the curve of healthy index 1 (HI1) and TEP fitted well with high coefficient of determination (R2) in both species, indicating that the model is highly reliable.  The HI1 simulation models for tomato and cabbage are HI1=0.0009e0.0308TEP−0.0015 and HI1= 0.0003e0.0671TEP−0.0003, respectively, which can be used for predicting vigors of tomato and cabbage seedlings grown under different temperature and light conditions. 
 
Keywords:  tomato        cabbage        simulation model        thermal effectiveness and photosynthetically active radiation        healthy index        G value  
Received: 26 December 2018   Accepted:
Fund: This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD0201203), the Independent Innovation of Agricultural Science and Technology in Jiangsu Province, China (CX (15)1015) and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, China.
Corresponding Authors:  Correspondence JIANG Fang-ling, Tel/Fax: +86-25-84396251, E-mail: jfl@njau.edu.cn    
About author:  ZHOU Tian-mei, E-mail: 370724508@qq.com; * These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

ZHOU Tian-mei, WU Zhen, WANG Ya-chen, SU Xiao-jun, QIN Chao-xuan, HUO He-qiang, JIANG Fang-ling . 2019. Modelling seedling development using thermal effectiveness and photosynthetically active radiation. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 18(11): 2521-2533.

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