STUDIES ON CULTIVATION AND KEEPING QUALIT Y OF BEAN SPROUTS .14. EFFECT OF PHYTOHORMONE-TREATED CULTURES ON QUALITY AND YIELD OF THICK BEANSPROUTS

In the culture of thick bean sprouts of soybean and mung bean, dipping in solution phytohormone-treated culturing method were tested with th e intention of producing good quality thick bean sprouts of short and thick hypocotyls, short roots and fewer root hairs on one hand, and, o n the other hand, those with high moisture contents, yields as well as transparent-looking and glossy surface color tones concurrently. The effectiveness and applicability of the method were examined in terms o f the growth, yield and moisture content, physical food property, as w ell as the color tone with the thick bean sprouts produced. Material b eans were soaked in water for 5 h at 25 similar to 27 degrees C, after that they were sprayed with water of 27+/-2 degrees C every 6 h in ge rmination beds kept at 27 similar to 30 degrees C. After the germinati on treatments for 24 h, they were immediately put on culturing beds ke pt at 27 similar to 30 degrees C. Then they were sprayed with water (2 7+/-2 degrees C) for 15 min every 6 h and aerated (aeration pressure; 1.2 kg/cm(2), aeration rate; 1.5 l/min) concurrently. Fourty-eight hou rs after the beans had been put on the beds, they were immersed in eac h 10.0 ppm solution of phytohormone (Auxin: indole-3-acetic acid, Absc isic acid, Cytokinin : benzyl adenine, Gibberellin) for 6 h, and then cultured for 5 days, i.c. 7 days in total. In the methods, the growths of both soybean and mung bean thick bean sprouts showed a similar tre nd in each dipping in solution phytohormone treatment. The comparison refered to the suitable values for marketing made on the 5 th day afte r the cultures started showed that the auxin-as well as cytokinin-trea ted culturing methods controlled the hypocotyl elongation, root elonga tion and the number of developed root hairs effectively, whereas promo ted the hypocotyl thickening and physical food properties. In addition , the color tone of the thick bean sprouts met the suitable value for marketing visually. The products, thus, indicated suitability for mark eting as a whole in the aspect of quality, accordingly it became possi ble here to culture high-quality thick bean sprouts. Concerning the yi eld and moisture content, the estimating criteria from the economical aspect, the abscisic acid treatment was found to be a suitable method but the auxin and cytokinin treatments gave rise to reduced yields and moisture contents, and thus these treatments were found to be unsuita ble methods;the gibberellin treatment showed intermediate behaviour of those described above with two groups of dipping in solution phytohor mone. The cytokinin and auxin, dipping in solution phytohormone, treat ments were effective and suitable for thick bean sprout cultures as th e improving measures of the quality estimated in terms of the growth c ontrols in hypocotyls and roots, as well as the intensification of phy sical food properties.