Abstract
Adjusting planting density is a common agricultural practice used to achieve maximum yields. However, whether the quality of medicinal herbs can be improved by implementing appropriate planting densities is still uncertain. The medicinal crop Panax notoginseng was used to analyze the effects of planting density on growth and ginsenoside accumulation, and the possible mechanisms of these effects were revealed through metabonomics. The results showed that P. notoginseng achieved high ginsenoside accumulation at high planting densities (8 × 8 and 10 × 10 cm), while simultaneously achieved high biomass and ginsenoside accumulation at moderate planting density of 15 × 15 cm. At the moderate planting density, the primary metabolism (starch and sucrose metabolism) and secondary metabolism (the biosynthesis of phytohormone IAA and ginsenoside) of the plants were significantly enhanced. However, the strong intraspecific competition at the high planting densities resulted in stress as well as the accumulation of phytohormones (SA and JA), antioxidants (gentiobiose, oxalic acid, dehydroascorbic acid) and other stress resistance-related metabolites. Interestingly, the dry biomass and ginsenoside content were significantly lower at low densities (20 × 20 and 30 × 30 cm) with low intraspecific competition, which disturbed normal carbohydrate metabolism by upregulating galactose metabolism. In summary, an appropriate planting density was benefit for the growth and accumulation of ginsenosides in P. notoginseng by balancing primary metabolism and secondary metabolism.
Highlights
Medicinal herbs, which can be used directly for therapeutic purposes or as important resources for pharmacological drug research and development, have a long history and play an indispensable role in the prevention and treatment of many diseases (Liu et al, 2015)
The strongest interspecific interaction (8 × 8 cm) resulted in a significant increase in plant height, root length, surface area and root volume compared with the weakest interspecific interaction (30 × 30 cm)
It is worth noting that the whole-plant, root, and aboveground roots increased with the increase of planting density (Figure 3B)
Summary
Medicinal herbs, which can be used directly for therapeutic purposes or as important resources for pharmacological drug research and development, have a long history and play an indispensable role in the prevention and treatment of many diseases (Liu et al, 2015). Plant Density Affect P. notoginseng Metabolism the accumulation of secondary metabolites (Kim et al, 2015). The intensity of such stresses affects the balance between the primary and secondary metabolism, which subsequently affects the growth, development and quality of genuine herbal medicine. Moderate stress promotes the accumulation of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants (Yang et al, 2018a; Guo et al, 2020). Excessive stress restricts resource acquisition, which inevitably affects the growth of plants affects the accumulation of secondary metabolites (Huang and Guo, 2007; Guo et al, 2020). The utilization of a suitable stress level to balance the primary and secondary metabolism is a critical strategy for achieving both high yields and high qualities of medicinal herbs simultaneously
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