Yield and nutritional quality analysis in Brassica pekinensis: Regulation of different nitrogen forms

In order to select the most suitable nitrogen form that can increase the yield and improve the quality of mini Chinese cabbage, a pot-experiment was conducted. The effects of the different nitrogen fertilizers on the yield, phenolic acid and flavonoids, amino acid fractions, volatiles, and total glucosinolate contents of mini Chinese cabbage were measured. The treatments were nitrate nitrogen (N), ammonium nitrogen (A), amide nitrogen (U), and amino acid nitrogen (PASP)], and no fertilizer (NF) was set as a control. The results showed that the economic yield in U-treated plants reached the maximum, which significantly increased by 124.1 % with comparison of that in NF-treated plants. Treatment A significantly increased the contents of total amino acids and total phenolic acids in mini Chinese cabbage. In summary, the U treatment was the most suitable nitrogen form for producing high-yield in mini Chinese cabbage. Treatment A was rather the most suitable nitrogen form for producing high-quality mini-Chinese cabbage.