Cultivation of dandelion (Taraxacum erythropodium) on coastal saline land based on the control of salinity and fertilizer

Dandelion (Taraxacum spp.) is a widely distributed weed; in China, however, dandelion has been considered to be a kind of medicinal and edible vegetable in recent years. This transition from weed to vegetable requires corresponding cultivation and management. Thus, the production of dandelion on saline land was conducted based on the evaluation of dandelion salt tolerance. Low soil salt content (< 0.3%) did not significantly affect dandelion growth, and the salt tolerance threshold of dandelion ranged from 0.4% to 0.43% according to the correlation between salt content and morphological and physiological parameters, which was for guiding the preparation of saline land for dandelion field cultivation. Different fertilizer treatments significantly affected the leaf yield of dandelion, and the maximum fresh leaf yield of ~10.5 t ha⁻¹ was obtained when urea was applied in batches at a ratio of 2:2:1 in the sowing, seedling and flowering stages, respectively. This research provided the theoretical and technical support for the cultivation on saline land, laying the foundation for further study of quality control for the cultivation of dandelion on saline land.