Phytodesalination of a salt-affected soil with the halophyte Sesuvium portulacastrum L. to arrange in advance the requirements for the successful growth of a glycophytic crop

• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.03.097
• Publication Date: 2010-04-19T04:58:54Z
• Authors: Mokded Rabhi; Siwar Ferchichi; Jihène Jouini; Mohamed Hédi Hamr...; Hans-Werner Koyro; Annamaria Ranieri; Chedly Abdelly; Abderrazak Smaoui
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; Analysis of Variance; Aizoaceae; Soil Pollutants; Hordeum; Sodium Chloride; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences; 6. Clean water; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

In the present work, we studied the potential of the obligate halophyte, Sesuvium portulacastrum L., to desalinize an experimentally-salinized soil after the following criteria: (i) decrease in soil salinity and sodicity, (ii) plant biomass capacity to accumulate sodium ions, and (iii) phytodesalinized soil quality (equivalent to growth of a glycophytic test culture of Hordeum vulgare L.). The cultivation of the halophyte on the salinized soil (phytodesalination culture) led to a marked absorption of Na(+) ions by S. portulacastrum roots and their accumulation in the above-ground biomass up to 872 mg plant(-1) and 4.36 g pot(-1) (about 1 tha(-1)). The decrease in salinity and sodicity of the phytodesalinized soil significantly reduced the negative effects on growth of the test culture of H. vulgare. Furthermore, the phytodesalination enabled H. vulgare plants to keep a high water content and to develop a higher biomass with relatively high K and low Na contents.