Jerusalem artichoke( JA) was chosen as main raw material for Lactobacillus plantarum cultivation.The effect of addition of nutrient elements on the growth and fermentative activity of L. plantarum in JA-based medium was studied. The results showed that addition of Mn SO4·H2O had a signi cant bene cial effect on the fermentative activity of L. plantarum while the cell growth rate was impacted by the glucose and soya peptone addition. The number of viable cells remained at 3. 5 × 109 CFU / m L in optimized medium after cultivation for 20 h. When this culture was performed for the pickling of Jerusalem artichoke,the p H value of picking juice was up to 3. 6,while the number of viable cells remained at 2. 0 × 107 CFU / m L after cultivation for 8 d at low temperature. Lack of manganese made the subsequent fermentation slower,the viable count of LAB in fermented juice without Mn SO4 addition was significantly lower( about 1. 2 × 107 CFU / m L) compared with cultivation with Mn SO4 addition and the p H value of picking juice remained at a high level. The results demonstrated that not only the density of LAB but also its activity was vital to the quality of LAB starter.