Received: 16 September 2019 Accepted: 11 December 2019 DOI: 10.1002/csc2.20023 Crop Science ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Biomedical, Health Beneficial & Nutritionally Enhanced Plants Partial substitution of mineral fertilizer with biofertilizer enhances cauliflower nutritional quality, yield, and soil characteristics Ping Yang 1 Jian Lyu 2 Hamza Sohail 3 Jihua Yu 2 Jianming Xie 2 Jie Li 1,2 1 College of Life Science and Technology, Honghe Univ., Honghe, Yunnan, China 2 Dep. of Facility Horticulture Science, College of Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural Univ., Lanzhou, China 3 Key Lab. of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural Univ., Wuhan, China Correspondence Jie Li, College of Life Science and Technology, Honghe Univ., Honghe, Yunnan, China. Email: gsau23@126.com Funding information China Agriculture Research System, Grant/Award Number: CARS-25-C-07; Honghe University, Grant/Award Numbers: XJ17B07, XJ17B08 Assigned to Associate Editor Jason Gilman. Abstract Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.) is as an important ingredient in many healthy diets worldwide, but there is a lack of scientific knowledge about fertil- izer management during cauliflower production. We conducted field experiments in Yuzhong, China, in 2015 and 2016 to determine the effects of the integrated use of biofertilizer and a reduced rate of mineral fertilizers on cauliflower growth, quality, and yield and on soil characteristics. Three different rates of mineral fertilizer (60, 80, and 100% of the mineral fertilizers; 100% rate = 400 N kg ha -1 , 225 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 , 125 kg K 2 O ha -1 ) and 500 kg ha -1 biofertilizer were applied to the crop with three replicates. The results showed that the use of the mineral fertilizer at 80% in combina- tion with biofertilizer (80% BF) increased the vitamin C content of cauliflower heads by 39.5% in 2015 and 43.6% in 2016 compared with the 100% mineral fertilization treatment (100% MF). The 80% BF treatment decreased the nitrate content by 27.1% in 2015 and 27.6% in 2016 and improved the soluble sugar contents by 19.1% in 2015 and 29.5% in 2016 compared with the 100% MF treatment. However, the effect of the 80% BF treatment on marketable yield was found to be nonsignificant. Biofertilization also improved the soil organic matter, available N, P, and K, and enzyme activities. We observed that conjugative use of biofertilizer and a reduction in mineral N–P–K fertilizer can be used successfully in cauliflower production without compromising marketable yields. 1 INTRODUCTION Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.) is an important crop among brassica species (Tempesta, Gian- Abbreviations: 60% BF, mineral fertilizer at 60% rate in combination with biofertilizer; 60% MF, 60% of recommended mineral fertilizer dose; 80% BF, mineral fertilizer at 80% rate in combination with biofertilizer; 80% MF, 80% of recommended mineral fertilizer dose; 100% BF, mineral fertilizer at 100% rate in combination with biofertilizer; 100% MF, 100% of recommended mineral fertilizer dose; DAT, days after transplantation. © 2019 The Authors. Crop Science © 2019 Crop Science Society of America quinto, & Hauser, 2019). The crop offers several health ben- efits, including being low in sodium and calories and high in dietary fiber, fatty acids, vitamins C, K, E, and B, and the minerals Fe, Mg, P, K, and Mn (Kapusta-Duch et al., 2019). Consuming cauliflower may provide humans with a degree of protection against cancers and heart diseases (Boeing et al., 2012). Due to its high nutritional value and health promot- ing properties, cauliflower has attracted great attention among researchers, producers, and consumers. However, production of this vegetable typically requires a large amount of min- eral fertilizers to fulfill the nutritional requirements of the crop (Zhang, Wu, Ju, & Kolbe, 2004). It is also known that Crop Science. 2020;1–11. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/csc2 1