95% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1594905
This article is part of the Research Topic Biofabrication and Synthetic Biology for Enhanced Medicinal Plant Bioproduction View all 6 articles
Soil Organic Amendments with Polygonum cuspidatum Residues Enhance Growth, Leaf Gas Exchange, and Bioactive Component Levels
Provisionally accepted- 1 College of Arts and Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
- 2 Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
- 3 Shiyan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shiyan, China
The extracted residue of Polygonum cuspidatum (a valuable medicinal plant) rhizome is discarded as waste, while it is unclear whether returing this residue to the field would be beneficial for the growth and its active component production of P. cuspidatum. This study aimed to investigate the effects of applying P. cuspidatum residues (PRs) to the field on plant growth, photosynthetic activities, root indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and zeatin riboside (ZR) levels, active component (polydatin, resveratrol, and emodin) contents, and the expression of resveratrol-associated genes (PcRS and PcPKS1) in P. cuspidatum plants. The experiment comprised four treatments, namely, the application of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer at a rate of 50 kg/667 m 2 and the application of PRs at rates of 1500 kg/667 m 2 (PR1500), 2500 kg/667 m 2 (PR2500), and 4000 kg/667 m 2 (PR4000), along with a control (CK) receiving no additional substances. Two years later, the application of both the compound fertilizer and PR treatments led to substantial increases in plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, number of nodes on main stems, and aboveground (leaf, branch, and main stem) and root biomass production, depending on used doses of PRs applied. Among them, the PR2500 treatment exhibited the superior performance. Additionally, these treatments significantly boosted root IAA (11.0-41.7%) and ZR (17.8-46.0%) levels, with the PR2500 treatment demonstrating the highest efficacy.Root IAA and ZR levels were significantly (p < 0.01) positively correlated with root biomass. All treatments, except for PR4000, significantly elevated SPAD values, net photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, and intercellular CO 2 concentration in leaves, with PR2500 showing the most pronounced improvements. Fertilization and PR treatments significantly boosted root polydatin (6.6-22.0%), emodin (12.1-43.3%), and resveratrol (17.8-69.3%, except for PR4000) levels, along with a significant upregulation of PcRS expression and a significant down-regulation of PcPKS1 expression in roots. In short, organic amendments like PRs, particularly at a rate of 2500 kg/667 m 2 , can be a viable alternative to traditional fertilizers for enhancing the plant growth and its active component levels of P. cuspidatum, making them a cornerstone of eco-friendly farming practices and sustainable agriculture.
Keywords: Compound fertilizer, indole-3-acetic acid, medicinal plant, Polydatin, resveratrol
Received: 17 Mar 2025; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Mu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hong-Na Mu, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.