HUBEI AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES ›› 2026, Vol. 65 ›› Issue (10): 129-135.doi: 10.14088/j.cnki.issn0439-8114.2026.10.019

• Medicinal Plant • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of different fertilization treatments on the yield and quality of Rheum officinale Baill. and soil fertility

WANG Fan-fan1, DUAN Yuan-yuan1, TANG Tao1, WU Jia-qi2, WANG Xiao-yue1, ZHOU Wu-xian1, YOU Jing-mao1   

  1. 1. Institute of Chinese Herbal Medicines, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory for Biology and Cultivation of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Hubei Engineering Research Center for Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Enshi 445000, Hubei,China;
    2. College of Forestry and Horticulture, Hubei Minzu University, Enshi 445000, Hubei, China
  • Received:2026-05-26 Online:2026-10-25 Published:2026-10-23

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Abstract: To investigate the effects of different fertilization treatments on the yield and quality of Rheum officinale Baill. and on soil fertility, two-year-old rhizome buds of Rheum officinale were used as experimental materials. A total of four fertilization treatments were established: T1 (full rate of chemical fertilizer), T2 (reduced rate of chemical fertilizer combined with microbial fertilizer), T3 (reduced rate of chemical fertilizer combined with calcium-magnesium phosphate fertilizer), and T4 (reduced rate of chemical fertilizer combined with microbial fertilizer and calcium-magnesium phosphate fertilizer), with no fertilization as the control (CK). The leaf physiological indices, yield, anthraquinone contents, and soil enzyme activities and soil nutrient contents were determined, and principal component analysis was used to calculate the soil integrated fertility index (IFI) and the comprehensive effect index (CE) based on yield and anthraquinone content. The results showed that, compared with CK, all fertilization treatments significantly increased leaf chlorophyll content and decreased peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) activities, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content; they also increased soil urease, alkaline phosphatase, sucrase, and CAT activities and soil nutrient contents; and significantly increased the yield and total and free anthraquinone contents of Rheum officinale. There was no significant difference in yield between T1 and T2, and T2 showed good performance in increasing soil enzyme activities and overall soil fertility. The IFI values followed the order T1 > T2 > T3 > T4 > CK, and the CE values followed the order T1 > T2 > T4 > T3. All fertilization treatments improved the yield and quality of Rheum officinale as well as soil fertility. Although T1 produced the highest short-term comprehensive effect, T2 maintained yield and improved quality while effectively improving soil fertility, and thus achieved better overall benefits, which was recommended as a fertilization regime for the ecological cultivation of Rheum officinale in Enshi Prefecture.

Key words: Rheum officinale Baill., physiological indices, soil physicochemical properties, soil nutrients, combined fertilization

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