Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation Improves Capparis spinosa’s Yield, Nutrient Uptake and Photosynthetic Efficiency under Water Deficit

Agronomy

Ahmad Mohammad Salamatullah¹  Hiba-Allah Nafidi²  Mohammed Bourhia³  Lahcen Ouahmane³  Hanane Dounas³  Mohammed Bouskout³  Mohamed Najib Al Feddy⁴  Walid Soufan⁵ 

[1] Department of Food Science & Nutrition, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Université Laval, 2325 University Street, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada;Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnologies, AgroSciences and Environment, Labeled Research Unit-CNRST N° 4, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco;Laboratory of Phytobacteriology, Plant Protection Research Unit, National Institute of Agronomic Research, CRRA, Marrakech 40000, Morocco;Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;

关键词: abiotic stresses;    Capparis spinosa;    biostimulants;    mycorrhizal inoculum;    water-deficit stress;    nutritional status;   

DOI  :  10.3390/agronomy12010149

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Agricultural yields are under constant jeopardy as climate change and abiotic pressures spread worldwide. Using rhizospheric microbes as biostimulants/biofertilizers is one of the best ways to improve agro-agriculture in the face of these things. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether a native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum (AMF-complex) might improve caper (Capparis spinosa) seedlings’ nutritional status, their morphological/growth performance and photosynthetic efficiency under water-deficit stress (WDS). Thus, caper plantlets inoculated with or without an AMF complex (+AMF and −AMF, respectively) were grown under three gradually increasing WDS regimes, i.e., 75, 50 and 25% of field capacity (FC). Overall, measurements of morphological traits, biomass production and nutrient uptake (particularly P, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺ and Zn²⁺) showed that mycorrhizal fungi inoculation increased these variables significantly, notably in moderate and severe WDS conditions. The increased WDS levels reduced the photochemical efficiency indices (Fv/Fm and Fv/Fo) in −AMF plants, while AMF-complex application significantly augmented these parameters. Furthermore, the photosynthetic pigments content was substantially higher in +AMF seedlings than −AMF controls at all the WDS levels. Favorably, at 25% FC, AMF-colonized plants produce approximately twice as many carotenoids as non-colonized ones. In conclusion, AMF inoculation seems to be a powerful eco-engineering strategy for improving the caper seedling growth rate and drought tolerance in harsh environments.

【 授权许可】

Unknown