Helianthus tuberosus L. tubers are the primary part utilized by humans for bioenergy and bioproduct production. Therefore, achieving high tuber yield is a core issue in Jerusalem artichoke cultivation and management. In this study, red-skinned Jerusalem artichoke was used as an experimental material. Under field conditions from 2022 to 2023, different root-cutting treatments were established to investigate their effects on Jerusalem artichoke biomass, photosynthetic characteristics, and rhizosphere (non-rhizosphere) soil nutrient content, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for high-yield cultivation of Jerusalem artichoke. During the vegetative growth stage (70–75 days after planting), a “vertical cutting method” was applied; centered on the plant, vertical cuts were made through the horizontal root system at radii of 20 cm, 30 cm, 40 cm, and 50 cm to implement root-cutting treatments. The total biomass, underground biomass, tuber yield and root/shoot ratio of Jerusalem artichoke increased by 11.59–25.97%, 15.77–46.33%, 7.69–49.09% and 11.72–62.69%, respectively. The tuber yield was greatest under D1 (20 cm) (0.94 kg·plant−1 and 0.98 kg·plant−1). On the 7th and 15th days after root breakage, the photosynthetic characteristics and transpiration rate of the Jerusalem artichoke gradually increased with increasing root-cutting radius and were lower than those of the control. On the 21st day after the root-cutting treatment, the photosynthetic characteristics and transpiration rate of the Jerusalem artichoke plants gradually decreased with increasing root-cutting radius and were greater than those of the control plants. The water use efficiency of Jerusalem artichoke increased with increasing root-cutting radius. The contents of C, N, P, available phosphorus, alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen showed that proper root-cutting can increase tuber yield of Jerusalem artichoke and improve rhizosphere soil nutrients.
Xu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.