Soil salinity is a major problem in arid and semi-arid regions, causing land degradation, desertification, and subsequently, food insecurity. Salt-affected soils and phosphorus (P) deficiency are the common problems in the sub-Sahara, including the Southern region of Morocco. Soil salinity limits plant growth by limiting water availability, causing a nutritional imbalance, and imparting osmotic stress in the plants. The objective of this study was to determine the positive effects of P on growth and productivity and understand the major leaf mineral nutrient content of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) cv. “ICBA Q5” irrigated with saline water. A field experiment applying three salinity (Electrical Conductivity, EC) levels of irrigation water (ECw = 5, 12, and 17 dS·m−1) and three P fertilizer rates (0, 60, and 70 kg of P2O5 ha−1) were evaluated in a split-plot design with three replications. The experiment was conducted in Foum El Oued, South of Morocco on sandy loam soil during the period of March–July 2020. The results showed that irrigation with saline water significantly reduced the final dry biomass, seed yield, harvest index, and crop water productivity of quinoa; however, P application under saline conditions minimized the effect of salinity and improved the yield. The application of 60 and 70 kg of P2O5 ha−1 increased (p < 0.05) the seed yield by 29 and 51% at low salinity (5 dS·m−1), by 16 and 2% at medium salinity (12 dS·m−1), and by 13 and 8% at high salinity (17 dS·m−1), respectively. The leaf Na+ and K+ content and Na+/K+ ratio increased with irrigation water salinity. However, the leaf content of Mg, Ca, Zn, and Fe decreased under high salinity. It was also found that increasing P fertilization improved the essential nutrient content and nutrient uptake. Our finding suggests that P application minimizes the adverse effects of high soil salinity and can be adopted as a coping strategy under saline conditions.

This study aimed to compare the influence of extraction methods on the pharmaceutical and cosmetic properties of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). For this purpose, the dried plant materials were extracted using advanced (microwave (MAE), ultrasonic (UAE), and homogenizer (HAE) assisted extractions) and conventional techniques (maceration, percolation, decoction, infusion, and Soxhlet). The tyrosinase, elastase, α-amylase, butyryl, and acetylcholinesterase inhibition were tested by using L-3,4 dihydroxy-phenylalanine, N-Succinyl-Ala-Ala-p-nitroanilide, butyryl, and acetylcholine as respective substrates. Antioxidant activities were studied by ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP. In terms of extraction yield, advanced extraction techniques showed the highest values (MAE > UAE > HAE). Chemical profiles were dependent on the phenolic compounds tested, whereas the antioxidant activities were always higher, mainly in infusion and decoction as a conventional technique. In relation to the pharmaceutical and cosmetic properties, the highest inhibitory activities against α-amylase and acetylcholinesterase were observed for Soxhlet and macerated extracts, whereas the highest activity against tyrosinase was obtained with MAE > maceration > Soxhlet. Elastase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activities were in the order of Soxhlet > maceration > percolation, with no activities recorded for the other tested methods. In conclusion, advanced methods afford an extract with high yield, while conventional methods might be an adequate approach for minimal changes in the biological properties of the extract.

Common hexaploid oat (Avena sativa L.) is an important global cereal crop. A Moroccan tetraploid sister species, A. magna Murphy et Terrel, was exclusively a wild species until recently. The goal of domestication was to exploit its superior groat-protein content and climatic tolerances. We set up replicated trials of 41 domesticated A. magna lines on eight Moroccan farms during the 2017–18 and 2018–19 growing seasons. Twenty traits were measured and analyses of variance detected significant differences among lines. The highest grain yield was at Berrechid in 2017–18 (63.56 q/ha), with an average annual yield across sites of 43.50 q/ha, the site factor explaining 82% and the genotype-environment interaction explaining 15% of the variability. In the second year, El Kebab recorded the highest yield at 20.03 q/ha over the annual average of 14.78 q/ha. In this second year, the site factor was highly significant, explaining 42.25% of the variation, with the genotype-environment interaction explaining 26.61% of the variability. An additional main effect and multiplicative interaction analysis of the eight two-year trials identified several accessions with good yield stability. Twelve lines exhibited a ASVs ≤ 1.50, with five accessions (A34, A40, A23, A05, A04) exceeding the overall average yield of 29.53 and A34 having the greatest mean grain yield and stability. The versatility and stability of A. magna can provide a sustainable protein source and an economic resource for farmers seeking products that are resilient to climatic instability.

High soil salinity, drought, and poor soil fertility, especially phosphorus (P) deficiency, are serious challenges for crop production in arid and desert climate regions. In these regions, irrigation water (mostly groundwater) is saline, and fertilization is one of the strategies used to cope with salinity stress. Crop livestock is one of the major agricultural activities in marginal regions, and blue panicum (Panicum antidotale Retz.), the perennial forage grass, has the potential to furnish forage demand. Thus, a field experiment testing the combination of three levels of irrigation water salinity and three P rate was carried out to evaluate the potential of P fertilizer to enhance yield and salinity tolerance of blue panicum grass. The experiment was conducted for two years between 2019 and 2020 in Foum el Oued, Laayoune, Morocco. It was implemented in a split-plot design with three replications considering irrigation water salinity as the main plot and P rates as sub-plot treatments. The evaluated P rates were 0, 90, and 108 kg P2O5 ha−1 (P1, P2, and P3, respectively), and the irrigation water salinities were 5, 12, and 17 dS·m−1. The results revealed that increasing irrigation water salinity significantly decreased the biomass production and stomatal conductance of blue panicum. Increasing irrigation water salinity from 5 to 12 and 17 dS·m−1 decreased fresh biomass production by 20 and 29%, respectively. Irrigation water salinity also decreased (p < 0.05) leaf N, P, K, Ca, and Zn concentration. However, supplementation of P fertilization enhanced (p < 0.05) biomass production and stomatal conductance mainly by improving leaf OM, Zn, and Fe content. P fertilization at 108 kg P2O5 ha−1 increased fresh biomass by 27%, 32%, and 19% under 5, 12, and 17 dS·m−1, respectively. Considering increased fresh biomass yield, P application at the rate of 108 kg P2O5 ha−1 can be suggested for saline drylands. P application is recommended to reduce the adverse effects of high salinity on growth and productivity and improve salinity tolerance of blue panicum in salt-affected arid and desert regions.

Salinity has become a major issue in various parts of the world negatively impacting agricultural activities and leading to diminished crop potential and lower yields. Such situation calls for urgent interventions such as adopting salt-tolerant crops to fill the gap in food and feed availability. Blue panicgrass (Panicum antidotale Retz.) is a promising salt-tolerant forage crop that has shown an appropriate adaptation and performance in the saline, arid, and desertic environments of southern Morocco. However, for obtaining a highest forage productivity with nutritional quality, optimization of the cutting interval is required. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the optimal cutting time interval allowing high forage production and quality under high salinity conditions. This experiment was conducted over one entire year covering the summer and winter seasons. The effect of five cutting time intervals on selected agro-morphological traits, crop productivity, mineral nutrient accumulation, and forage quality of blue panicgrass in the region of Laayoune, southern Morocco. The finding of this study recommend that cutting blue panicgrass every 40 days maximized the annual fresh and dry forage yield as well as the protein yield, which reached 74, 22, and 2.9 t/ha, respectively. This study also revealed a significant effect of the season on both productivity and quality. However, forage yield declined during the winter and increased during the summer, while protein content increased during winter compared to summer. The mineral nutrient partitioning between shoots and roots, especially the K+/Na+ ratio, indicated that blue panicgrass has salt tolerance mechanism as it excluded sodium from the roots and compartmentalized it in the leaves. In conclusion, there is a potential of blue panicgrass on sustaining forage production under salt-affected drylands, as demonstrated by the response to two key questions: (a) a technical question to farmers for its adoption such as at which interval should blue panicgrass be harvested maximizing both forage yield and quality? And (b) a scientific question on how does blue panicgrass maintain high K+/Na+ ratio to cope with salinity stress?