Effect of Salinity and Nitrogen Fertilization Levels on Growth Parameters of <i>Sarcocornia fruticosa</i>, <i>Salicornia brachiata,</i> and <i>Arthrocnemum macrostachyum</i>
Tesfaye Asmare Sisay,
Zhadyrassyn Nurbekova,
Dinara Oshanova,
Arvind Kumar Dubey,
Kusum Khatri,
Varsha Mudgal,
Anurag Mudgal,
Amir Neori,
Muki Shpigel,
Rajeev Kumar Srivastava,
Luísa Margarida Batista Custódio,
Dominic Standing,
Moshe Sagi
Affiliations
Tesfaye Asmare Sisay
The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, The Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Sede Boker 8499000, Israel
Zhadyrassyn Nurbekova
The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, The Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Sede Boker 8499000, Israel
Dinara Oshanova
The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, The Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Sede Boker 8499000, Israel
Arvind Kumar Dubey
Jacob Blaustein Center for Scientific Cooperation, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Sede Boker 8499000, Israel
Kusum Khatri
Jacob Blaustein Center for Scientific Cooperation, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Sede Boker 8499000, Israel
Varsha Mudgal
School of Petroleum Technology, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar 382007, Gujarat, India
Anurag Mudgal
School of Petroleum Technology, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar 382007, Gujarat, India
Amir Neori
Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Muki Shpigel
Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Rajeev Kumar Srivastava
Department of Environmental Sciences, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263153, Uttarakhand, India
Luísa Margarida Batista Custódio
Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Dominic Standing
The Albert Katz Department of Dryland Biotechnologies, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Dryland, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Beersheba 8499000, Israel
Moshe Sagi
The Albert Katz Department of Dryland Biotechnologies, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Dryland, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Beersheba 8499000, Israel
Salinity negatively influences crop growth, but several salt-tolerant plant species (halophytes) are viable crops. Sarcocornia fruticosa (ecotypes EL and VM) is currently cultivated, but there is demand for new crop candidates and higher biomass production. Salicornia brachiata Roxb. and Arthrocneum macrostachyum L. are considered novel crops, and to realize their potential, their response to salinity and nitrogen nutrition was compared to S. fruticosa ecotypes. Experiments revealed that higher N supplemented with lower NaCl significantly increased fresh and dry shoot biomass. Lower biomass was obtained at lower nitrogen supplemented with elevated NaCl, whereas total soluble solids content positively correlated with NaCl fertigation in both Sarcocornia ecotypes. Protein content increased with a lower nitrogen supply. Anthocyanins and oxygen radical absorbance capacity were highest in S. fruticosa EL and A. macrostachyum at higher NaCl supply. The results show that halophytes have a variety of strategies to cope with high NaCl, even between ecotypes of the same species. Notably, repetitive harvesting of S. brachiata delayed flowering enabling year-round biomass production. Additionally, S. brachiata accumulated higher biomass than Sarcocornia VM when grown in a greenhouse at higher radiation than in a growth room and strongly supports its inclusion as a cash-crop halophyte.
