#Japan #Okayama #WAKU #Takken #Fujizou

Introduction

WAKU, a company based in Okayama City, has recently joined forces with Takken Corporation and Fujizou Landscape and Civil Engineering Company to initiate a groundbreaking study focused on enhancing plant vitality in green infrastructure. This collaboration is aimed at advancing urban greening practices while addressing challenges such as limited soil availability and water constraints often faced in urban environments.

Background of the Research

In recent years, cities have been increasingly adopting 'green infrastructure' as a strategy to combat heat island effects and improve aesthetics, as well as to promote environmental sustainability. However, these efforts often encounter problems such as poor initial establishment of vegetation and high mortality rates during the summer months due to extreme heat. Takken Corporation has been pioneering a unique green infrastructure method known as 'Honeycomb Green,' which enhances vegetative performance and resilience. WAKU has identified an opportunity to leverage its expertise in glutathione technology from the agricultural sector for application in urban greening.

Research Objective

The primary goal of this study is to improve plant stability and environmental resilience in the Honeycomb Green infrastructure method. Urban green spaces often have to endure challenging conditions such as limited soil and water supply, combined with high temperatures and dry spells in summer. Therefore, the research seeks to explore the application of WAKU's glutathione technology on turfgrass units, investigating its impact on:
1. Early growth performance
2. Plant vitality and stress resistance under restricted irrigation conditions.
This will be quantitatively assessed using indicators such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).

Research Summary

• - Subjects: Honeycomb Green turfgrass units (500mm x 500mm)
• - Testing Conditions:

- Control (no treatment)
- Glutathione granules
- Glutathione liquid
- Combination of granules and liquid

• - Evaluation Methods:

- Measuring NDVI during growth and restricted irrigation periods
- Ongoing photographic monitoring of growth stages

• - Test Design: Comparative validation across multiple conditions with repetitions

The NDVI is known as an indicator of plant vitality, where good indicators typically hover around 0.7.

Research Findings

The preliminary results from this collaborative study have revealed distinctive trends in growth behaviors of the turfgrass units treated with glutathione under both early growth and restricted irrigation conditions. During the initial growth phase, turfgrass units treated with the glutathione liquid, as well as the combination of granules and liquid, demonstrated faster establishment compared to the control units. After approximately two weeks following treatment, the NDVI showed an increase, suggesting that glutathione could promote early growth effectively.

Moreover, after the initial growth, when irrigation frequency was limited to once a week, the combined treatment group exhibited a relatively mild decline in NDVI. This indicates a quicker recovery from damages caused by abrupt changes in irrigation conditions, demonstrating the potential for maintaining plant vitality even in dry stress environments. Conversely, under conditions where adequate irrigation was provided (once every two days), the differences in NDVI across treatment groups were minimal, indicating that the benefits of glutathione treatment are more pronounced under environmental stress conditions.

Future Outlook

The initial findings confirmed trends in enhanced early growth and the possibility of maintaining vitality under dryness. Moving forward, further analysis on root mass—considering both dry weight and below-ground growth characteristics—will be conducted to evaluate the comprehensive effects of the treatments. This research aims to increase initial establishment rates, reduce irrigation and maintenance burdens, and ensure stable greening during summer, ultimately progressing towards practical application in urban architecture and spaces.
WAKU remains committed to using its plant physiology and stress management expertise to contribute to sustainable urban environments, with aspirations to broaden the application of glutathione technology in building and urban infrastructure.