A Comparative Study of Organic and Conventional Management on the Rhizosphere Microbiome, Growth and Grain Quality Traits of Tritordeum

Abstract

Tritordeum is a novel hexaploid cereal derived from the cross between a wild Chilean barley species (Hordeum chilense Roem. et Schultz) and durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum Desf.) that is potentially of great interest for human nutrition. In this study, a commercial and an experimental Tritordeum cultivar were analyzed in comparison with a reference durum wheat under conventional and organic management. We demonstrate that Tritordeum is better adapted to organic farming through an increase in the below-ground rhizosphere community of the Bacteroidetes phylum, which includes many bacteria species known to exert beneficial effects on plants, particularly for root growth. Despite a considerably lower grain yield, Tritordeum had better quality traits than durum wheat, particularly under organic farming vs. conventional management, with respect to total protein contents, high molecular weight glutenin subunits, antioxidant free phenols and nutrients (i.e., calcium, potassium, sulphur, iron, and zinc), depending on the cultivar. We conclude that Tritordeum is a promising cereal in light of its quality traits and adaptability to sustainable crop management practices, such as organic farming, although further improvement in yield potential should be pursued by breeding and by optimising the cultivation method.

Improvement of Soil Microbial Diversity through Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Its Evaluation by -Omics Approaches: A Perspective for the Environment, Food Quality and Human Safety

“…All endophytic fungi isolated improved shoot growth and biomass of tomato plants, and some also exhibited activity that enhanced tomato fruit yields. Visioli et al found that Tritordeum cv., a novel hexaploid cereal, is more efficient at hiring beneficial microbes with plant growth promoting capacity like Bacteroides under organic management [ 82 ]. Similarly, Li et al found that under organic management, pepper plants recruit beneficial microbes more efficiently than under integrated or conventional management [ 78 ].…”

“…For instance, recent field research on the application of different soil microbial consortia to common wheat has highlighted heightened plant growth and nitrogen accumulation in the phases of stem elongation and heading, as well as upregulation of two gluten protein subunits, which are important indicators of flour quality [ 76 , 142 ]. Similarly, [ 82 ] demonstrated that the resilient cereal Tritordeum was better adapted to organic farming compared to conventional farming through an increased abundance of beneficial bacteria (Bacteroidetes) in the soil microbial community of the rhizosphere. The amount of minerals, gluten proteins and polyphenols increased in the grains too under this management, which would imply a link between belowground biodiversity and plant quality traits.…”

Tritordeum: Creating a New Crop Species—The Successful Use of Plant Genetic Resources

“…Tritordeum, including 'Bulel', seems better adapted to organic farming than durum wheat since it shows an increase in the below ground community of the Bacteroidetes phylum and better grain quality than durum wheat [17]. However, it has a lower grain yield [17].…”

“…Tritordeum, including 'Bulel', seems better adapted to organic farming than durum wheat since it shows an increase in the below ground community of the Bacteroidetes phylum and better grain quality than durum wheat [17]. However, it has a lower grain yield [17]. However, it is important to note that new advanced lines of tritordeum outperform 'Aucan' and 'Bulel' for yield performance [18].…”

Tritordeum as an Innovative Alternative to Wheat: A Comparative Digestion Study on Bread

“…A few recent studies in Europe have been focused on the agronomical traits, looking at yield performance of tritordeum cultivars (cvs) over conventional soft and durum wheats [7,12,13]. Scientific works have so far mainly focused on the bioactive compounds' content: tritordeum, in fact, has higher levels of carotenoids and arabinoxylans than wheat, and these result in a greater total antioxidant activity.…”