Effects of Growth Regulators on Yield and Quality of Mungbean Sprouts Grown in an Automatically Controlled Chamber

High quality mungbean sprouts are characterized by thick hypocotyls and short roots. In this study, three plant growth regulators (gibberellic acid, ethephon and abscisic acid) were applied to mungbean sprouts during growth in a microprocessor controlled chamber. Ethephon and gibberellic acid treatments produced sprouts having substantially more food value (dry matter, protein, ascorbic acid) per 100 g of mungbeans than the nontreated controls. Single application (10 or 20 ppm) or double application (20 ppm) ethephon treatment improved mungbean sprout quality through its root‐shortening and hypocotylthickening effects. The chamber developed in this study eliminated labor and provided a simple, convenient and reproducible sprout growing process. It has potential in small factories or restaurants as well as in the laboratory.