Objective: Corydalis yanhusuo is a type of traditional Chinese medicine. A field experiment was conducted to study the dry matter production and the accumulation and distribution of N

P and K in C. yanhusuo for the purposes of revealing the nutrients absorption regularity of C. yanhusuo

and providing guidance to famers for scientific cultivation and fertilization. Method: C. yanhusuo samples of 106 farmers from 8 towns in Chenggu county

Shaanxi province

were analyzed for two consecutive years. And the absorption of nutrients

such as nitrogen

phosphorus

potassium and dry matter accumulation were analyzed and determined at each growth stage of C. yanhusuo. Result: The dry matter of C. yanhusuo shoots increased at first and then decrease

while the dry matter of C. yanhusuo corms increased throughout the whole growth period. From the seedling stage to the end of the flowering stage

the dry matter accumulated rapidly

which accounted for 26.7% to 44.1% of the total dry matter. At the end of the flowering stage

biomass of C. yanhusuo shoots reached the maximum. During the corm expanding stage

as the nutrients of shoots started to transfer

the dry matter decreases. From the early flowering stage to the expanding stage

corms expended quickly

accumulating 50.3% to 87.5% of the total dry matter. Corms biomass reached the maximum

accounting for 78.5% to 79.8% of the total biomass of the whole plant. The absorptive amounts of N

P and K at each growth stage were different. C. yanhusuo shoots absorbed nutrients quickly from the seedling stage to the flowing stage

reaching the peak at the end of the flowering stage

with N as the largest proportion

K the second largest proportion and P the least proportion. C. yanhusuo corm absorbed nutrients rapidly from the early flowering stage to the expanding stage

with K the largest proportion

N the second largest proportion and P the least proportion. Conclusion: We suggest that manure and phosphorus shall be applied as basal fertilizers

while N and K could be split

with 40%-50% as basal fertilizer and the left applied for a better yield of C. yanhusuo.