Characteristics of Aboveground and Red Ginseng Quality of Polystem Ginseng(Panax gjnseng C.A. Meyer)

This study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of aboveground plants and red ginseng of polystem ginseng in 6 years of age having two or more stems in a plant. Total leaf weight and area of polystem ginseng were larger, while its stem diameter, and the leaf weight and area of the big­gest stem in each plant were decreased with increase the stem numbers in a plant. The ratio of shoot weight to root weight in the polystem ginseng with three or more stems was higher than that in the monos­tem ginseng and the polystem ginseng with two stems, In ginseng plants with no more than 2 stems, there were positive correlations between root weight and total leaf weight, and leaf area, but not between leaf weight and area of the biggest stem. Inner cavity and inner white, limiting factors for redginseng quality grade, occurred more in tri-stem ginseng than mono- and di-stem one. Percentages of Heaven (1st grade) and Earth (2nd grade) red ginseng in tri-stem ginseng were decreased compared with mono stem and di-stem ginseng.