Intumescence incidence and growth characteristics of pepper and tomato grafted seedlings under different durations of high relative humidity in a light-emitting diode (LED) healing chamber

초록

Intumescence, a physiological disorder exacerbated by high relative humidity (RH), is a significant issue in grafted seedlings. This study evaluated the optimal duration of high RH exposure required to minimize intumescence symptoms during the healing period in light-emitting diode (LED) healing chambers. Immediately after grafting, pepper and tomato grafted seedlings were moved from the high RH (96 ± 3%) LED healing chamber to the low RH (86 ± 4%) LED healing chamber at 2, 3, 4, and 5 days after grafting, respectively, for a total healing period of 6 days. In the case of grafted pepper seedlings, the optimal duration of exposure to high RH varied among cultivars. A 3-day exposure to high RH, followed by a transition to low RH, resulted in successful graft-take rates, while significantly reducing the severity of intumescence. ‘Sunhan Gilsang’ showed a 16.7% reduction with the 3-day high RH treatment compared to the 5-day high RH treatment, while ‘Nokkwang’ and ‘Superior’ exhibited remarkable reductions of 78.0% and 78.2%, respectively, with the 2-day high RH treatment. In tomato grafted seedlings, intumescence severity was significantly reduced with the 3-day high RH treatment for ‘TY Haruakki,’ showing a 66.6% reduction, and the 4-day treatment for ‘Mini Chal,’ which resulted in a 74.8% reduction compared to the 5-day high RH treatment. These results suggest that the cultivar-specific optimization of high RH duration, followed by a transition to low RH, is an effective strategy to mitigate intumescence symptoms while ensuring high grafting success in commercial seedling production. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Korean Society for Horticultural Science 2026.

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