Ginsenoside Enrichment and Soil Enhancement via Reductive Soil Disinfection Treatment

Background Ginseng ( Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) is a type of plant that cannot be continuously cultivated. Continuous cultivation of ginseng can lead to the deterioration of soil properties, affecting the normal growth and development of ginseng. Objectives Improving soil quality and breaking down the obstacles to the continuous cultivation of ginseng can help the sustainable development of the ginseng cultivation industry. We hope to improve the quality of continuous cropping soil through reductive soil disinfection (RSD), and we hope that the quality of ginseng cultivated in soil under RSD improvement conditions can be improved. Materials and Methods A 3-year-old ginseng field was used as a control, soybean (SOY), broccoli (BRO), alfalfa (ALF), purple perilla (PPE), and rapeseed (RAP) were used as organic carbon sources. RSD improvement technology was used to treat the soil of the old ginseng field before planting ginseng. The content of ginsenosides was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and the total ginsenoside content was determined by perchloric acid-vanillin-acetic acid colorimetry. Soil pH, conductivity, bulk density (SBD), maximum water capacity (MWC), capillary water capacity (CWC), soil moisture content (SWC), alkali hydrolyzed nitrogen (SAN), organic matter (SOM), available phosphorus, urease activity, catalase activity, protease activity, sucrase, amylase, cellulase, and glucanase activities and acid phosphatase activity were determined based on the methods in the literature. Results RSD treatment significantly increased the content of ginsenosides, improved soil acidity, and increased soil enzyme activity and water-holding capacity. When PPE and BRO were used as RSD carbon sources, soil salinization could be improved. Ginsenoside Rb2, Rc, Rd, Rb3, Rb1, Ro, TG, Rg1, Re, soil nitrate reductase, soil protease, SBD, and SWC were the most active factors under RSD treatment and were also the main influencing factors for distinguishing sample differences under different RSD treatments. The results obtained by the analytic hierarchy process showed that all RSD treatments improved the comprehensive quality of ginseng and soil samples, with SOY, PPE, and RAP being the better treatments. Conclusion SOY was the best method for RSD processing. RSD not only improved soil properties but also enhanced the quality of ginseng, making it an effective technique for soil remediation in intensive ginseng cultivation.