Abstract:
Soil secondary salinization is a major environmental constraint threating agriculture sustainability and cause considerable economic losses. Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants and are being investigated as possible sources of genes that can improve crop salt tolerance. They're also being studied as possible resources for vegetables, fruit trees, forage, and energy plants. It is essential to choose genotypes that are salt tolerant to produce food from soils affected by salt to meet the world's rising demand for food for people and livestock. In the current study, four halophyte species were assessed using various agronomic, physiological, nutritional, and quality indices in a saline field (9.7 dS m-1). All halophyte species showed notable differences in terms of growth traits. The tested crops were, Itsit (Boerhaviadiffusa), Dela (Cyperusrotundus), Bathu (Panicumantidotale) and Murrot (Chenopodium album) grown in a saline field condition. Higher plant biomass, chlorophyll, water content, membrane stability, soluble sugars, protein and ash contents, as well as better mineral nutrition and a higher K+/Na+ ratio were found in Boerhavia diffusa. In contrast, Chenopodium album showed the lowest plant growth and the lowest K+/Na+ ratio among all species. Our findings indicate that the tested halophytes have the potential to be a valuable resource for plant breeders and crop physiologists due to their genetic variability and salinity tolerance potential. Moreover, halophytes can also serve as a good starting point for the breeding of salt-tolerant species with high nutritional value that can grow and enable the utilization of saline lands and provide alternative forage to feed the livestock.
Page(s):
92-92
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Abstract Book on International Conference on Food and Applied Sciences (ICFAS-23) 3-5 August 23, Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2023
Keywords:
salinity
,
protein
,
K+Na+ ratio
,
Halophytes
,
soluble sugars