Application of Native or Exotic Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Complexes and Monospecific Isolates from Saline Semi-Arid Mediterranean Ecosystems Improved Phoenix dactylifera’s Growth and Mitigated Salt Stress Negative Effects

Elmostapha Outamamat,Mohamed Najib Al Feddy,Abdulhakeem Alzahrani,Mohammed Bourhia,Hanane Dounas,Ahmad Mohammad Salamatullah,Heba Khalil Alyahya,Lahcen Ouahmane,Nawal A Albadr,Bacem Mnasri

doi:10.3390/plants10112501

Elmostapha Outamamat, Mohamed Najib Al Feddy + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112501

Copy DOI

Abstract

The date, the palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important component of arid and semi-arid Mediterranean ecosystems, particularly in Morocco where it plays a considerable socio-economic and ecological role. This species is largely affected by desertification, global warming, and anthropic pressure. Salinity is a very worrying problem that negatively affects the growth and the physiological and biochemical activities of the date palm. In these arid zones, the main challenge is to develop new environmentally friendly technologies that improve crop tolerance to abiotic restraints including salinity. In this sense, Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have received much attention due to their capability in promoting plant growth and tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. It is thus fitting that the current research work was undertaken to evaluate and compare the effects of native AMF on the development of the growth and tolerance of date palm to salt stress along with testing their role as biofertilizers. To achieve this goal, two complexes and two monospecific isolates of native and non-native AMF were used to inoculate date palm seedlings under saline stress (0 g·L−1 Na Cl, 10 g·L−1, and 20 g·L−1 Na Cl). The obtained results showed that salinity drastically affected the physiological parameters and growth of date palm seedlings, whilst the application of selected AMF significantly improved growth parameters and promoted the activities of antioxidant enzymes as a protective strategy. Inoculation with non-native AMF complex and monospecific isolates showed higher responses for all analyzed parameters when compared with the native complex and isolate. It therefore becomes necessary to glamorize the fungal communities associated with date palm for their use in the inoculation of Phoenix dactylifera L. seedlings.

Highlights

Introduction distributed under the terms andClimate change has disrupted the environmental balance, causing significant salinization of soils
The microscopic analysis of the mycorrhizal status of date palm seedlings revealed the presence of all the expected mycorrhizal fungi structures, in seedlings roots after eight months of cultivation followed by two months under salt stress
The obtained results showed that colonization by Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) of date palm seedlings was reduced by salt stress, especially when the applied concentration reached 20 g·L−1 NaCl

Summary

Introduction

Introduction distributed under the terms andClimate change has disrupted the environmental balance, causing significant salinization of soils. Soil salinity is a growing problem affecting agricultural land with serious consequences on the plant growth and development, resulting in a reduction of more than 20%. The rise in soil salinity causes osmotic and specific ionic effects, which in turn result in secondary stress in plants, namely, oxidative stress [4,5]. In Morocco, a large land area dedicated to date palm trees’ cultivation has suffered from intense degradation under the effect of various abiotic and biotic stresses, including salinity [10]. The latter is one of the most harmful issues, which limits the growth and the development of plants [11]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion