Potential of Native Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Rhizobia, and/or Green Compost as Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ) Enhancers under Salinity
Salinity is one of the devastating abiotic stresses that cause reductions in agricultural production. The increased salinization affects alfalfa growth, metabolism, and rhizobium capacity for symbiotic N fixation negatively. This study was undertaken to investigate the efficiency of green compost (C...
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Published in | Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 8; no. 11; p. 1695 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
MDPI
30.10.2020
MDPI AG |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Salinity is one of the devastating abiotic stresses that cause reductions in agricultural production. The increased salinization affects alfalfa growth, metabolism, and rhizobium capacity for symbiotic N
fixation negatively. This study was undertaken to investigate the efficiency of green compost (C; made from green waste), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (M; field-sourced native consortium), and/or rhizobium (R; a salt-tolerant rhizobium strain) individually or in combination as an effective strategy to improve alfalfa productivity under non-saline and high-saline (120 mM NaCl) conditions. In addition, we aimed to understand the agro-physiological and metabolic basis as well as glomalin content in the soil of biofertilizers-induced salt tolerance in alfalfa. Here, we show that mycorrhizal infection was enhanced after MR inoculation, while C application decreased it significantly. Salinity reduced growth, physiological functioning, and protein concentration, but the antioxidant system has been activated. Application of the selected biofertilizers, especially C alone or combined with M and/or R improved alfalfa tolerance. The tri-combination CMR mitigated the negative effects of high salinity by stimulating plant growth, roots and nodules dry matters, mineral uptake (P, N, and K), antioxidant system, synthesis of compatible solutes, and soil glomalin content, sustaining photosynthesis-related performance and decreasing Na
and Cl
accumulation, lipid peroxidation, H
O
content, and electrolyte leakage. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2076-2607 2076-2607 |
DOI: | 10.3390/microorganisms8111695 |