– Kang Min-gu, an agricultural researcher, won the Excellence Award for the Spring Conference of the Korean Horticultural Society –
Dr. Min-Goo Kang, who works at the Seongju Chamfruit Vegetables Research Center at Gyeongsangbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, was awarded the Excellence Presentation Award in recognition of the excellence of his melon hydroponics research performance at the '26 Korean Horticultural Society Spring Conference' held on the 2022th.
'Effects of types of floor coverings on the rhizosphere environment in melon cultivation in old melons*' published by Kang Min-koo, an agricultural researcher, is about the root zone management technology for melon digital farm conversion to improve the melon cultivation environment and productivity.
*Effect of Type of Floor Coverings on the Environment in the Root Zone on Korean Melon Elevated-Bench Cultivation
The study published this time evaluated agricultural materials suitable for increasing productivity by extending the cultivation period, such as reviewing suitable covering materials for the low temperature period for growing melons in old snow, and discovering covering materials for improving the quality of melons during the high temperature period.
In addition, the cultivation characteristics according to the type of melon high snow bed were presented, suggesting a bed structure suitable for high snow cultivation.
Founded in 1963, the Korean Society of Horticultural Sciences is the largest agricultural society and publishes HEB* and HST** six times a year, respectively.
*(Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology, English)
**(Horticultural Science and Technology, Korean/English)
It is the first academic society to be listed in the Science Citation Index (SCIE), the first among domestic agricultural journals, and boasts the highest authority.
Academia expects that this study will have high utility value as it can improve the melon's bad working environment and increase productivity, and will serve as a catalyst for digital transformation of the entire melon industry in the future.
On the other hand, melon is a representative regional special crop that 90% of the domestic production is produced in Gyeongbuk.
Recently, there is a demand for smart agricultural technology development for sustainable development of the melon industry, such as labor reduction, improvement of the cultivation environment, and the influx of young farmers.
Accordingly, the Agricultural Research and Extension Services has been promoting the 'Melon digital farm system establishment and export technology development' project as a regional specialized crop technology development research project with the Rural Development Administration since last year with the goal of improving the melon working environment, productivity, and convenience.
Shin Yong-sup, head of Gyeongbuk Agricultural Research and Development Institute, said, “In the future, we will focus on research that helps melon cultivation in the field, centering on Seongju, the main production area.” I will try,” he said.