Effects of organic and bacterial fertilizer application on cabbage characteristic and rhizosphere soil microorganisms

• Combined application of OF, BC, and SB increased cabbage biomass weight, vitamin C content, and total sugar content greatly. • Combined fertilizer application accelerated the biomass accumulation rate of plants and increased the rhizosphere soil bacterial diversity. • Volatile organic compounds from cabbages were mainly esters, alcohols, acids, acetates, aldehydes, and ketones. • Combined BC, OF, and bacterial fertilizer treatment resulted in more fibrous roots and a shorter root length. The increasing demand for high quality fertilizer, which is being driven by human nutrition demand and agricultural soil protection, necessitates sustainable alternatives to be used as vegetable production. Thus, utilizing biochar (BC), bacterial fertilizer and their combination with organic fertilizer (OF) could be a sustainable approach. In our research work, OF, BC, liquid bacterial fertilizer (LB), and solid bacterial fertilizer (SB) were used to investigate different fertilizer combinations. Greenhouse field experiment was conducted to compare different fertilizer application and their effects on cabbage biomass, cabbage characteristics and soil physical and chemical properties. The results showed that combined application of OF, BC, and LB promoted cabbage growth and resulted in the highest yield of 16.6 kg/m 2 . The vitamin C content was highest at 48.4 mg/kg with the combined application of OF, BC, and SB treatment. The combined application of OF, BC, and SB achieved the best overall comprehensive evaluation for cabbage biomass weight, vitamin C content, and total sugar content. The combined application of OF and a bacterial fertilizer improved soil properties, while the addition of BC reduced the soil nutrient content. Gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) analysis showed that volatile organic compounds from cabbages were mainly esters, alcohols, acids, acetates, aldehydes, and ketones. These results provide a comprehensive understanding of different fertilizer applications and their effects on cabbage quality and rhizosphere soil.