Appraisal of Salt Tolerance under Greenhouse Conditions of a Cucurbitaceae Genetic Repository of Potential Rootstocks and Scions

Abstract

<jats:p>Soil salinization due to climate change and intensive use of water and soil is increasing exponentially. Cucurbitaceae species are cultivated worldwide and the identification of salinity tolerant genotypes to be used as rootstock or scion for securing yield stability in salt affected agricultural areas is a research priority. In the present greenhouse study, we assessed the response to salinity (0 mM a non-salt control and 150 mM NaCl dissolved in the nutrient solution) in the seedlings of 30 genotypes of cucurbits grown in a floating hydroponic system. The species tested included 16 genotypes of Cucumis melo L. (CM1-16), 6 Citrullus vulgaris Schrad. (CV1-6), 2 interspecific hybrids of Cucurbita maxima Duch. × Cucurbita moschata Duch. (CMM-R1 and 2), 4 bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. (LS1-4)), 1 Cucurbita moschata Duch. (CMO51-17), and 1 luffa (Luffa cylindrica Mill. (LC1)) species. Results highlighted different morphological and physiological traits between the species and genotypes and a different response to salt stress. We identified C. maxima × C.moscata interspecific hybrid CMM-R2, melon genotypes CM6, CM7, CM10, and CM16 together with watermelon genotypes CV2 and CV6 and bottle gourd LS4 as salt tolerant genotypes and possible candidates as salt resistant rootstock to be introduced in grafting programs.</jats:p>

Hydraulic Efficiency of Green-Blue Flood Control Scenarios for Vegetated Rivers: 1D and 2D Unsteady Simulations

“…It is crucial to highlight that the outcomes of the present study refer to a single riparian vegetation species (common reed beds), while, in a more realistic perspective, the combined effect of two or more species represent a source of uncertainty which inevitably propagates in the vegetative Manning's n hydraulic roughness coefficient associated with each simulated cross-section, quantitatively varying in a wider range of values. Thus, this uncertainty could be reduced by implementing more complex and rigorous numerical analyses, obtained by coupling high-performance computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models [49][50][51][52][53] and simulations [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] with the most advanced remote sensing techniques of fluvial hydraulics, agro-forestry and land use governance interest [62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71].…”

Response and Defence Mechanisms of Vegetable Crops against Drought, Heat and Salinity Stress

“…Increase of rosmarinic acid, total polyphenols and aroma [157] Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. acephala, Green and Red Salad Bowl) Cultivation in floating system with 1, 10, 20, 30 mM NaCl Greenhouse Reduction of: leaf area, fresh yield, P, K, SPAD index, water use effiency, traspiration, net photosynthesis at 30 mM NaCl; Increase of: Ca, Mg, K, total phenols, ascorbic acid, in red cultivar at 20 mM NaCl [158] 30 Cucurbitaceae genotypes Cultivation in floating system with 130 mM NaCl Greenhouse Reduction of growth parameters; increase of electrolyte leakage [159] In another study, plants of spiny chicory (Cichorium spinosum L.) were grown in greenhouse and supplemented with nutrient solutions of different concentrations of NaCl resulting at three different levels of electrical conductivity, namely 4 dS m −1 , 6 dS m −1 and 8 dS m −1 [152]. The moderate dose (6 dS m −1 ) yielded the highest dry matter content and along with the 8 dS m −1 dose resulted in the highest ash (1.28 g 100 g −1 fw) and protein (1.41 g 100 g −1 fw) content.…”

“…The addition of 150 mM of NaCl to the nutrient solution of a floating system where 30 varieties of Cucurbitaceae species where cultivated affected plant growth parameters (number of leaves, shoot length, diameter and dry weigth, root length and dry weigth) in a genotype-dependent manner [159]. Salinity reduced chlorophyll a content by up to 49% in some genotypes, whereas in others chlorophyll a content increased by up to 61%.…”

Multiple Stressors in Vegetable Production: Insights for Trait-Based Crop Improvement in Cucurbits

“…Sodium chloride stress induces reduction in biomass, photosynthetic pigments, and proline accumulation, while lipid peroxidation and K + , Na + , and Cl – contents are increased ( Hawrylak-Nowak, 2009 ). The addition of 150 mM of NaCl to the nutrient solution of a floating system where 30 varieties of Cucurbitaceae species were cultivated, affected plant growth parameters (number of leaves, shoot length, diameter and dry weight, root length and dry weight) in a genotype-dependent manner ( Modarelli et al, 2020 ). Salinity reduced chlorophylla content by up to 49% in some genotypes, whereas in others chlorophylla content increased by up to 61%.…”