Hydro-Environmental Criteria for Introducing an Edible Halophyte from a Rainy Region to an Arid Zone: A Study Case of Suaeda spp. as a New Crop in NW México.

Francyelli Regina Costa-Becheleni,Alejandra Nieto-Garibay,Hugo Sergio García-Galindo,Bernardo Murillo-Amador,Enrique Troyo-Diéguez,Luis Alejandro Bustamante-Salazar

doi:10.3390/plants10101996

Francyelli Regina Costa-Becheleni, Alejandra Nieto-Garibay + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10101996

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Abstract

Halophytes are capable of growing in saline environments. However, this attribute results from a wide genetic variability, making it difficult to approximate halophytes’ agroecological management. We examined the hydro-climatological attributes associated with the distribution of species of the genus Suaeda in NW Mexico and SW USA, and for S. edulis in central México. The analysis focused on the introduction of the semi-domesticated species Suaeda edulis as a new crop, from central regions of México, reaching an average yield of 8 Mg ha−1 of biomass, to arid NW México. The list of Suaeda species was elaborated from the eHALOPH and Calflora databases, and the NW México Herbarium Network. According to the Hydro-Environmental Availability Index (HEAI), the central regions of Mexico reflect a greater water availability, suitable for S. edulis. In such a humid region, HEAI varied from 6 to 18, indicating sufficient moisture for crops. In contrast, other Suaeda species, including S. nigra, S. esteroa, and S. californica, spread in NW Mexico and SW United States, where the water availability is null during the year, with HEAI scoring from 0 to 4. Under such dryness, S. edulis in NW Mexico will require water through optimized irrigation and plant breeding strategies to ensure its viability as a new crop.

Highlights

We aimed to propose the main hydro-environmental criteria for introducing their related species S. edulis from a rainy region in the central region of México to an arid zone of NW México, in order to diagnose the basic hydro-environmental requirements for its successful establishment
The listed species are distributed in six states in Northwest Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, and Sonora) and in the southwestern states of the USA (Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and California) [32,36,37]
In view of the lack of previous experience with Suaeda edulis in northwestern Mexico, we propose the list of criteria shown in Table 3, where we emphasize that periods of high temperatures will limit crop cycles to periods that reflect less thermal stress

Summary

Introduction

The Need to Introduce New Crops to Areas with Limited Water Availability. Introducing new crops with high water-use efficiency in drylands will help to curb the rising demand for water. Over a period of millions of years, through natural selection, only the most adapted species survived the desert environment. Xerophyte species have evolved, becoming well-adapted to extremely xeric conditions, developing physiological and morphological strategies of exploiting harsh environments that would desiccate other species [1]. Halophytes and halotolerant crops are the only options for cultivation in saline-degraded soils. The use of halophytes may be a viable commercial alternative to ease pressure on the requirement for good quality land and water for conventional cropping systems, and for the utilization of land degraded by salinity [2]

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