Effect of Yield and Quality of Erythropalum Scandens Bl. Under Different Dosage and Proportion of Chicken Manure and Cow Manure
Abstract Erythropalum scandens Bl. is a kind of leafy vegetable which has high edible and medicinal value in Southern China. However, it has been treated as a kind of wild vegetable for a long time and there is still little researches on its yield and quality after fertilization. This study aimed to assess the effect of yield and quality of E. scandens after using two kinds of organic fertilizer: chicken manure and cow manure, which find out the responses of the edible part in E. scandens after using different dosage and proportion of chicken manure and cow manure and find out a best fertilization treatment. We investigated the yield and quality of the edible part in biennial E. scandens including average yield, titratable acid content, sugar acid ratio, crude protein content, ascorbic acid content, tea polyphenols content, nitrate content, general flavone content and macronutrient content (including total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) after using different dosage and proportion of chicken manure and cow manure, which to find out a best fertilization treatment via the yield, nutrient and taste. Compared with CK group, proper fertilization can increase the average yield of E. scandens and promote its growth and macronutrient accumulation at the same time. The content of all kinds of nutrients are higher than CK group after using organic fertilizers and they can be accumulated during the process of fertilization. The E. scandens seedlings had the highest yield and best quality under T6 treatment (0.8kg/plant chicken manure+1.2 kg/plant cow manure). However, nitrate can be accumulated in the edible part of E. scandens during the process of fertilization. Compared with CK group, organic fertilization can increase the yield and quality of E. scandens, but excessive fertilization can lead to a significant increase in nitrate levels in plants, even exceeding food safety standards. The nitrate level of E. scandens is a little bit high in this research and better solution is still needed to ensure the quality and food security of E. scandens in the near future.