{
  "id": 17980883,
  "title": "Organic Fertilizer Substitution for Chemical Fertilizer Improves Yield, Medicinal Active Compounds and Amino-Acid Profiles of Dendrobium officinale with Multi-Index Comprehensive Evaluation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/organic-fertilizer-substitution-for-chemical-fertilizer-improves",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.29.762708v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Dendrobium officinale, a medicinal plant facing threats due to over-harvesting, is cultivated artificially and requires a fertilization regimen that optimizes yield and medicinal quality. Researchers conducted a greenhouse study to determine the impact of varying organic fertilizer substitution ratios on the plant's growth, yield, and medicinal properties. Seven treatments were evaluated, ranging from no fertilizer application (CK) to sole chemical fertilizer (CF) and single organic fertilizer application (OM). The study found that fertilization significantly enhanced plant growth, yield, and medicinal quality. Compared to the control, stem length, diameter, and yield increased by 15.5-60.3%, 34.2-64.7%, and 65-143.2%, respectively, under fertilized treatments. Additionally, chemical fertilization boosted the levels of dendrobine, polyphenols, and alcohol-soluble extracts by 21.2-83.7%, 14-49.1%, and 10.8-26.9%, respectively. The highest plant growth and yield were observed under sole chemical fertilizer, but the optimal balance between yield and medicinal properties was achieved with a 40% organic fertilizer substitution (T40). As the proportion of organic fertilizer increased, plant growth and yield initially improved but then declined, while medicinal active ingredients such as dendrobine, polysaccharides, and flavonoids exhibited a rising trend before reaching a plateau. The study identified 17 amino acids in all treatments, with T40 and T60 treatments demonstrating significant increases in total amino acids, essential amino acids, and specific medicinal, umami, and bitter-tasting amino acids. Excessive organic fertilizer application led to a decline in amino acid contents. The majority of growth, quality, and amino acid indicators showed significant or extremely significant positive correlations. Based on a comprehensive evaluation using the membership function method, the order of treatments was T40 > T60 > CF > T20 > T80 > OM > CK, with T40 yielding the highest comprehensive evaluation value. Therefore, the 40% organic substitution scheme is recommended for high-quality greenhouse cultivation of this medicinal horticultural plant.",
  "summary": "Dendrobium officinale (D. officinale) is an important medicinal horticultural crop. Its wild resources are threatened by over-exploitation. Fertilization regimes that balance yield and medicinal quality are urgently required for its artificial cultivation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of reduced chemical fertilizer combined with organic fertilizer on the yield and quality of D.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}