• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.38-46
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• 2002

Chrysanthemum boreale M. (hereafter, C. boreale M.), a perennial flower, has been historically used as a natural medicine in Korea. With increasing concerns for health-improving foods, the demand for C. boreale M. has become higher than ever. Howevr, the amount of wild C. boreale M. collected from mountainous areas is not enough to cover all demands. The cultivation system and fertilization strategy are required to meet increasing demand on C. boreale M. with a good quality. We investigated the effects of nitrogen application on plant growth and effective components of C. boreale M. to suggest optimum rate of nitrogen fertilization. C. boreale M. was cultivated in a pot scale (1/2000a scale), and nitrogen applied with rate of 0(N0), 50(N50), 100(N100), 150(N150), 200(N200), and $250(N250)kg\;ha^{-1}$. Phosphate and potassium were applied at the same level ($P_2O_5-K_2O=80-80kg\;ha^{-1}$) in all treatments. Maximum yield achieved in 246 and $226kg\;ha^{-1}$ N treatment on the whole plant and the flower part, a valuable part as a herbal medicine, respectively. Proline was the most abundant amino acid in the flower of C boreal M. and the contents of amino acids increased with increasing nitrogen application rate in flower. Nitrogen recovery efficiency was high more than 41% in all nitrogen treatments and increased to 61.8% in nitrogen N100 treatment. From the nitrogen content, the high nitrogen uptake, the low residue of mineral N and the reasonably good apparent fertilizer recovery, it can be inferred that C. boreale M. made efficient use of the available nitrogen. In flower, contents of Cumambrin A. which is a sesquiterpene compound and has the effect of blood-pressure reduction, decreased with increasing nitrogen application. However, the amount of Cumambrin A in flower increased as nitrogen rate increased, because of increasing flower yield. Conclusively, nitrogen fertilization could increase yields and enhance quality. The optimum nitrogen application rate might be on the range of $225{\sim}250kg\;ha^{-1}$ in a mountainous soil.