Abstract
A cultivation behavior in high density cultivation of mung bean sprouts was investigated from the engineering viewpoint. The effect oxygen concentration on the growth rate was evaluated, because heterotrophic growth and secondary metabolism reactions were related to oxygen. The cart with controllable circuit for gas phase was used for high density cultivation. In a growing test of mung bean in high density and individual cultivations under various oxygen concentrations, courses of fresh weight, and whiteness index of seedling of mung bean sprouts were measured, and specific growth rate based on fresh weight were investigated. In high density cultivation, specific growth rate was faster than in individual cultivation, and differences in growth rate according to growth stage were observed with oxygen concentration. On low oxygen concentration whiteness index of the seedling raised. Therefore, it is assumed that oxygen concentration was so low that secondary metabolism reaction of brown substances in root of seedling was limited. These results suggest that growth and secondary metabolism reactions in high density cultivation could be regulated by controlling oxygen concentration in gas phase. In this study, we proposed that the concept of Controlled Atmosphere (CA) might be applied in plant cultivation as well as CA storage.
