Moderate deficit irrigation synergizes with partial replacement of chemical fertilizer by organic fertilizer to enhance soil microenvironment and improve the quality and yield of edible Rose

Edible Rose cultivation suffers from soil environment deterioration and low yield due to sloppy water and fertilizer management. Therefore, this study conducted a shelter experiment for two consecutive years (2022–2023). We set three irrigation levels (CI, DI 80 , and DI 60 : 100 %, 80 %, and 60 % of full irrigation) and four organic fertilizer substitution levels (F 0 , F 15 , F 30 , and F 45 : 0 %, 15 %, 30 %, and 45 % organic fertilizer substituting chemical fertilizer). This study examined how soil nutrients, enzyme activity, microbial diversity, yield, and nutritional quality of edible Rose were affected by deficit irrigation and partial replacement of chemical fertilizer by organic fertilizer. Results indicated that DI 60 increased soil nutrients by 0.59–27.64 % while reducing yield by 1.51–13.74 % compared to CI. DI 80 F 30 showed the highest soil enzyme activity, increasing by 55.32–102.10 % compared to CK. The soil microbial Simpson index, Shannon index, Richness index, and yield initially increased and then decreased with the proportion of organic fertilizer replacing chemical fertilizer increasing and reached a larger value at F 30 , which were 7.93–40.36 %, 44.02–76.55 %, 8.60–12.53 %, and 23.72–38.52 % higher than F 0 . Improve soil microbial carbon source utilization capacity by 31.75–161.00 % in 2023 compared to 2022. The total polyphenol, flavonoid contents, and total antioxidant activity of edible Rose peaked at DI 80 F 30 , which was 59.05 %, 236.28 %, and 121.17 % higher than CK. Correlation analyses revealed a strong relationship between nutritional quality, yield, and soil microenvironmental factors. The comprehensive application of the soil quality index method and the entropy weight-TOPSIS method demonstrated that DI 80 F 30 was the most suitable drip fertigation strategy for improving soil quality and enhancing the quality and yield of edible Rose in the root zone. This study provides a practical reference for water and fertilizer management of edible Rose cultivation in southwest China. • Moderate deficit irrigation and partial organic fertilizer replacement improved the soil microenvironment. • Moderate deficit irrigation and partial organic fertilizer replacement enhanced edible Rose yield and quality. • DI 80 F 30 treatment is the best irrigation and fertilization strategy for edible Rose cultivation.