Effect of Sowing Rate, Fertilizer Amount and Light on Yield of Cichorum glandulosum Boiss. Et Huet.

Yanrui CHEN, Juling WANG, Nurbolat Aidarhan, Xu BAI, Geyu LIU, Haibaier Huojiaaihemaiti, Abulimiti Yili*

1. Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; 2. Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences and Guangxi Key Laboratory of Diabetes System Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541004, China; 3. Agricultural Technology Extension Center of Moyu County, Moyu 848100, China

Abstract [Objectives] This study aimed to investigate the effect of sowing rate, fertilizer amount and light on yield of Cichorium glandulosum Boiss. et Huet. [Methods] The Latin square design was adopted to investigate the effect of sowing rate+fertilizer amount, sowing rate+light on root and seed yield of C. glandulosum Boiss. et Huet. The changes in the seed and root yield of C. glandulosum Boiss. et Huet. under the influence of sowing rate, N application rate and light were compared and analyzed. [Results] In Moyu, Hotan and similar areas, the suitable sowing rate of C. glandulosum Boiss. et Huet. was 4.5-15.0 kg/ha. Without applying fertilizer, if the main purpose is to harvest the roots, the sowing rate of C. glandulosum Boiss. et Huet. is recommended to be 7.5-15.0 kg/ha; and if the main purpose is to harvest the seeds, the sowing rate is recommended to be 4.5-7.5 kg/ha. Shading will affect the root and seed yield. At the fertilizer amount of 450 kg/ha, the optimal sowing rate of C. glandulosum Boiss. et Huet. is 4.5 kg/ha. [Conclusions] This study provides a certain reference basis for artificial cultivation of C. glandulosum Boiss. et Huet.

Key words Cichorium glandulosum Boiss. et Huet., Sowing rate, Nitrogen application amount, Light, Yield

1 Introduction

Cichorium

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. (Compositae:

Cichorium

) is an annual herb, widely distributed in Xinjiang, China and surrounding countries. It is a commonly used medicinal material in Uyghur medicine in China. Although the whole herb can be used as medicine, in Uyghur medicine in Xinjiang, the above-ground part is mainly used. The herb tastes bitter and is cold in nature, with functions of clearing away liver fire, promoting choleresis, invigorating stomach, promoting digestion, promoting diuresis and diminishing swelling. It is used to treat damp-heat jaundice, stomachache, poor appetite, edema, oliguria, hepatitis, nephritis, enteritis, bronchitis and other diseases. The major functions of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. are to clear heat, detoxify, promote diuresis, clear away liver fire and fight inflammation, and it is usually used for treating hepatitis, nephritis, enteritis and tracheitis. The artificial cultivation of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet., as a commonly used medicinal material in Uyghur medicine, as achieved some phased results. However, large-scale artificial planting has not yet been achieved, making it unable to meet the growing demand of market, severely restricting the industrialization and development of the medicinal material. To this end, the effect of sowing rate, fertilizer amount and light on the root and seed yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. was investigated, with a view to improving the yield and reducing planting costs and risks through agronomic measures.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Seed source

Seeds of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. were purchased from Xinjiang Kashgar Kunlun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Since 2015, standardized planting trials of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. had been carried out in Moyu County, Hotan, Xinjiang. The seeding material in this experiment was the self-propagated and self-retained seeds.

2.2 Field trial design

The experimental area was located in Moyu Agricultural Science and Technology Park (79°37′ E, 37°09′ N; 1 386 m a.s.l.) in Zhawa Town, Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture. The planting area was 1.5 ha. This area has an annual average temperature of 11.4 ℃, accumulated temperature >0 ℃ of 4 450 ℃, accumulated temperature ≥10 ℃ of 4 017 ℃, and frost-free period of about 210 d. The main source of irrigation water was groundwater. The soil tested was fertile sandy loam (pH 7.3-7.6). The thousand-kernel weight was 4.22 g. The annual total irrigation volume was 9 000- 12 000 m/ha.Orthogonal design was adopted. A total of 15 treatments of sowing rate+light were designed. The sowing rate of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. was set at 4.5, 7.5, 10.5, 13.5 and 15.0 kg/ha, respectively. In terms of light, tow-layer shading (Z2), one-layer shading (Z1) and no shading (CK) were designed. Three replicates were arranged for each treatment, and thus, a total of 45 plots were designed (Table 1). A total of 9 treatments of sowing rate+fertilizer amount were signed. The sowing rate of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. was set at 4.5, 7.5 and 10.5 kg/ha, respectively, and the fertilizer amount was set at 450, 300 and 150 kg/ha, respectively. Three replicates were arranged for each treatment, and thus, a total of 27 plots were designed (Table 2). The sowing period was from mid-to-late March to mid-to-early April. The planting depth was 1.0-2.0 cm. The row spacing was 40-60 cm.

Table 1 Sowing rate+light control treatments

Table 2 Sowing rate+fertilizer amount treatments kg/ha

The changes in the phenology and plant growth of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. were observed once every 10 d. During the maturity period, the seeds of each plot were harvested, air-dried, and purified, respectively.

2.3 Yield measurement

Field measurement was adopted. Plants of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. were dug out, and the roots 3-8 cm from the interface with the ground were cut off and air-dried. The seeds were collected, purified and air-dried. The roots and seeds obtained were weighed, respectively.

2.4 Data processing

SPSS 16.0 and Originpro 9.0 were used for data statistics and analysis.

3 Results and analysis

3.1 Effect of sowing rate+light on yield of

.

Boiss. et Huet.

In Moyu, Hotan, the seeds of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. generally mature from late July to early August. The

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. plants of each plot were harvested, root-cut, air-dried, seed-harvested, seed-purified and stored, separately. The root and seed yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. under different treatment was measured, respectively. The relationship between each sowing rate+light treatment and seed yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. is shown in Fig.1.

Fig.1 Changes in the yield of roots and seeds of Cichorium glandulosum Boiss. et Huet. under different treatments

As shown in Fig.1, the effect of different sowing rate+light treatment on the root and seed yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. was different, and the change range and trend of the seed yield and root yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. were different. From the perspective of root yield, treatment 3 (sowing rate 15.0 kg/ha+no shading) was the highest, followed by treatments 7 (sowing rate 10.5 kg/ha+two-layer shading) and 12 (sowing rate 7.5 kg/ha+no shading); and treatment 1 (sowing rate 15.0 kg/ha+two-layer shading) was the lowest, second to treatments 4 (sowing rate 13.5 kg/ha+two-layer shading) and 2 (sowing rate 15.0 kg/ha+one-layer shading). In terms of seed yield, treatment 15 (sowing rate 4.5 kg/ha+no shading) was the highest, followed by treatments 12 and 14 (sowing rate 4.5 kg/ha+one-layer shading); and treatment 4 (sowing rate 13.5 kg/ha+two-layer shading) was the lowest, second to treatments 1 and 11 (sowing rate 7.5 kg/ha+one-layer shading). The sum of seed yield and root yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. was the highest in treatment 12, followed by treatment 3 (sowing rate 15.0 kg/ha+no shading), and that in treatment 4 was the lowest.

3.2 Effect of sowing rate+fertilizer amount on yield of

.

Boiss. et Huet.

The seed yield and root yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. under different sowing rate +fertilizer amount treatment was measured, respectively, and the results are shown in Fig.2.

Fig.2 Changes in the yield of roots and seeds of Cichorium glandulosum Boiss. et Huet. under different treatments

Under different sowing rate+fertilizer amount treatment, the changes in the seed yield and root yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. were different; and the changes in seed yield were relatively large., and the root yield varied slightly. In treatment 22 (sowing rate 4.5 kg/ha+fertilizer amount 450 kg/ha), the seed yield and root yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. were significantly higher; in treatment 23 (sowing rate 4.5 kg/ha+fertilizer amount 300 kg/ha), the root yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. was the lowest, while the seed yield was relatively high; and in treatment 16 (sowing rate 10.5 kg/ha+fertilizer amount 450 kg/ha), the seed yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. was the lowest, while the root yield was relatively high. To sum up, the effect of sowing rate and fertilizer amount on the seeds and roots of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. was different.

4 Conclusions

Through cross-test of sowing rate, fertilizer amount and light control, the suitable sowing rate of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. in Moyu, Hotan and similar areas is concluded to be 4.5-15.0 kg/ha. Without applying fertilizer, if the purpose is to harvest the roots, the sowing rate of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. is recommended to be 7.5-15.0 kg/ha, and at the sowing rate of 15.0 kg/ha, shading will affect the root yield; and if the purpose is to harvest seeds, the suitable sowing rate of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. is 7.5-7.5 kg/ha, and shading is not recommended. Under normal light conditions, when the sowing rate is 4.5 kg/ha and the fertilizer amount is 450 kg/ha, the seed yield and root yield of

C

.

glandulosum

Boiss. et Huet. are significantly higher than other treatments.