Yeon-Sang Song

Difference of Starch Characteristics of Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) by Cultivated Regions

We investigated out the effect of cultivation region on the physicochemical characteristics of starch in six sweetpotato cultivars. The following sweetpotato cultivars were analyzed: Daeyumi, Shingeonmi, Jinhongmi, Shinyulmi, Yulmi, and Yeonhwangmi. Samples were cultivated in Muan, Iksan, Nonsan, Boryeong and Hamyang. The soil texture was found to be sandy loam in Muan, Iksan, and Boryeong, sandy clay loam in Nonsan, and loam in Hamyang. The starch content of the sweetpotato was higher in Muan than in Hamyang. The amylose content was 22.3-30.9%, and the highest amylose content was found in samples from Iksan. Rapid viscosity analysis showed that the samples from Hamyang had the lowest values of pasting temperature, while samples of the Daeyumi cultivar had the highest values. Thermal analysis with a differential scanning calorimeter showed that the Muan samples had the highest values of onset temperature, maximum peak temperature, and completion temperature, and the samples from Hamyang had the lowest values. There was no difference between the cultivation regions or the cultivar in the X-ray pattern of the starch or its appearance in scanning electron micrographs. Therefore, the results of this study confirm that cultivation region and cultivar play an important role in determining the quality of sweetpotato and the physicochemical characteristics of sweetpotato starch.

Physicochemical Characteristics of Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) Starch Depending on Cultivation Periods

This study was performed to understand the effect of cultivation periods on the physicochemical characteristics of the starch of five sweetpotato cultivars, cultivated in Muan, Korea. Starch, protein, and ash contents increased with increased cultivation period, whereas amylose content decreased. Rapid viscosity analysis showed that the pasting temperature, peak viscosity, breakdown, setback and final viscosity increased with increased cultivation period. However, trough and final viscosity decreased. Although the onset temperature and peak temperature values increased, the conclusion temperature did not show any consistent patterns by differential scanning calorimetry. X-ray diffraction showed that the starch samples had C-type crystallinity irrespective of the cultivation period and cultivar. The starch granules were dominantly round and oval, or polygonal irrespective the cultivation period. The bigger the particle size was, the longer the cultivation period was.

Control Effect of Insecticides against Chilo suppressalis Walker of Native Miscanthus in Korea

Miscanthus are perennial rhizomatous grasses and considered as an ideal cellulosic bioenergy crop. Recently, it was reported that Miscanthus was damaged by the larvae of rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis Walker, one of the most destructive pests of rice in Korea since the 1960s. This study was thus conducted to evaluate the insecticidal effects against rice stem borer in the Miscanthus cultivation fields for two years. The experiment consisted of four chemical agent plots, one environment-friendly agent plot, and untreated plot. Untreated plot showed significantly high damage of 50%, while Buprofezin·Tebufenozide and Carbosulfan·Methoxyfenozide treatment plots showed low damage rate of 2% with low larvae density of 1 and 2.3 larvae m−2, respectively. Damage rates of Tebufenozide, ChlorantraniliproleIndoxacarb, and environment-friendly agent(MatrineWood vinegar solution) were 15, 26, and 18%, respectively, which were lower than that of untreated plot but higher than those of Buprofezin·Tebufenozide and Carbosulfan·Methoxyfenozide. In conclusion, rice insecticides were effective against rice stem borer in Miscanthus field. In particular, the treatments with Buprofezin·Tebufenozide and Carbosulfan·Methoxyfenozide showed excellent control effects with control value of 93.3 and 95.2. However, further studies with different types of insecticides should be carried out for the selection of insecticides with more effective control of rice stem borer.