Micro-moistening irrigation combined with bio-organic fertilizer: An adaptive irrigation and fertilization strategy to improve soil environment, edible Rose yield, and nutritional quality

Excessive water and fertilizer management strategy was main factor restricting high-quality production of edible Roses. The objective of this study was therefore to explore a combination of micro-irrigation method and bio-organic fertilizer application amount suitable for high-quality production of edible Roses. A two-year greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effects micro-irrigation method and bio-organic fertilizer application on soil environment, photosynthetic characteristics, yield, and nutritional quality of edible Rose in 2019 and 2020. The experiment treatments consisted of three micro-irrigation methods [micro-sprinkler irrigation (SI), drip irrigation (DI), and micro-moistening irrigation (MI)] and four bio-organic fertilizer supplementation levels (0, 5000, 10000, and 15000 kg ha(-1), labeled as BF0, BFL, BFM, and BFH). The results indicated that MIBFM significantly improved soil water content, soil organic matter, pH, and the number of bacteria, fungus, and actinomycetes in the edible Rose field among all treatments. The MIBFM could improve net photosynthetic rate and leaf instantaneous water use efficiency of edible Rose compared with MIBFH. The flower weight, average flower diameter, and edible Rose yield were larger in MIBFM than those of MIBFH in 2019 and 2020. The MIBFM improved total sugar, flavonoids, vitamin C, and total amino acids of edible Rose compared with MIBFH. According to analyzing the relationships between photosynthesis, soil environment, flower yield, and quality among all treatments, we found MIBFM promoted edible Rose production by improving soil environment. The membership function method was used to comprehensively evaluate the nutritional quality of edible Roses, we recommended that the combination of micro-moistening irrigation (MI) combined with bio-organic fertilizer application amount (10000 kg ha(-1)) (BFM) would be an adaptive irrigation and fertilization management strategy for improving soil environment and edible Rose production in Southwest China.