Influence of boron and calcium on the tolerance to salinity of nitrogen-fixing pea plants

Abstract

The effects of different levels of B (from 9.3 to 93 μM B) and Ca (from 0.68 to 5.44 mM Ca) on plant development, nitrogen fixation, and mineral composition of pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Argona) grown in symbiosis with Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 and under salt stress, were analysed. The addition of extra B and extra Ca to the nutrient solution prevented the reduction caused by 75 mM NaCl of plant growth and the inhibition of nodulation and nitrogen fixation. The number of nodules recovered by the increase of Ca concentration at any B level, but only nodules developed at high B and high Ca concentrations could fix nitrogen. Addition of extra B and Ca during plant growth restored nodule organogenesis and structure, which was absolutely damaged by high salt. The increase in salt tolerance of symbiotic plants mediated by B and Ca can be co-related with the recovery of the contents of some nutrients. Salinity produced a decrease of B and Ca contents both in shoots and in nodulated roots, being increased by the supplement of both elements in the nutrient solution. Salinity also reduced the content in plants of other nutrients important for plant development and particularly for symbiotic nitrogen fixation, as K and Fe. A balanced nutrition of B and Ca (55.8 μM B, 2.72 mM Ca) was able to counter-act the deficiency of these nutrients in salt-stressed plants, leading to a huge increase in salinity tolerance of symbiotic pea plants. The necessity of nutritional studies to successfully cultivate legumes in saline soils is discussed and proposed.