Study aims to help Kentucky growers improve transplant quality of vegetables

Producing vegetable transplants — small starter plants for growers to start gardens with — is a “nascent” industry in Kentucky. Lark Wuetcher, a senior major in horticulture at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, is helping Kentuckians address potential industry problems by studying the optimal lighting conditions needed to keep transplants in the Bluegrass healthy and of high quality.

Wuetcher’s project focuses on the influence of daily light integral on growth, morphology and quality of vegetable transplants. Garrett Owen, assistant professor at the UK Department of Horticulture and advisor to Wuetcher on this project, defined the daily light integral (DLI) as the cumulative and integrated measurement of light intensity and duration of light exposure a plant receives over a period of time. received within 24 hours. Owen also said daily light changes integrally depending on geographic location, season, day length, glass material and greenhouse infrastructure, among a number of other factors.

The purpose of the study is to determine the optimal DLI for growers in Kentucky to achieve the best transplant quality and to help them learn how to achieve and maintain target DLIs year-round.

According to the 2017 UK Cooperative Expansion Publication “Vegetable transplant production“There is a high demand for vegetable transplants and young plants in the state. All types of cultivation activities from commercial to home gardens use transplants.

Owen explained that DLI is especially important in the transplant industry, as low light can lead to poorly rooted young plants with an increased chance of damage and breakage of transplants during planting.

“Under the optimal DLI, growers can reduce transplant shock and the chances of those transplants being bent or broken in half, or if there’s a producer in the state that produces transplants for other growers, they can ship them easily as well.” said Owen.

Owen surveyed vegetable transplant growers across the state to determine which transplants should be included in the study. The study showed which varieties are most beneficial to growers in Kentucky, leading researchers to select popular and common varieties such as cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, pumpkin and more.

Wuetcher and Owen are conducting the research at the UK Horticulture Research Farm in Lexington. By manipulating and managing the greenhouse environment during the transplants, Wuetcher and Owen can create different DLIs and document how each vegetable variety performs under different DLIs. After about two weeks, the researchers will measure and photograph transplants of the different treatments to collect data for comparison and calculations.

“It’s satisfying to line up the transplants and see the gradual but clear trends between treatments, knowing the work is paying off with good data,” Wuetcher said.

The duo started the first study cycle in May and completed the second treatment in early July. The third and final repeat will start at the end of August. The researchers plan to complete the study in October and have publication materials ready by January, giving growers time to implement their findings in the spring.

“I hope growers understand the importance of DLI and how an environmental factor in the greenhouse can make a big difference in the overall quality of a plant and even in their reputation for producing high-quality transplants,” Owen said.

Owen also hopes this project will have an impact for Wuetcher to showcase the skills and knowledge he gained during his time in the horticultural department.

“I see that these capstone projects are not something simple, but something to challenge the student and bring together everything they’ve learned over the past three years,” Owen said. “It’s the cornerstone of everything you’ve learned here at UK.”

Wuetcher said that while the project is still underway, he feels he has already learned so much.

“In running the project, I learned the most from setting up the experiment to collecting photos and data from the transplants,” Wuetcher said. “Each part has different procedures that can affect the outcome and accuracy of the project, so learning the right way to do things has been invaluable.”