Impact of Grafting, Salinity and Irrigation Water Composition on Eggplant Fruit Yield and Ion Relations

Abstract

Scarcity of fresh water in arid and semi-arid regions means that we must use more saline waters for irrigation and develop tools to improve crop salt tolerance. The objectives of our study were to (1) Evaluate fruit production, salt tolerance and ion composition of eggplant cv Angela, both nongrafted and when grafted on tomato cv Maxifort rootstock and (2) Evaluate eggplant specific toxicity effect of Cl− and Na+ ions under saline conditions. We salinized the irrigation water with either a Na+-Ca2+- Cl− composition typical of coastal Mediterranean ground waters as well as a mixed Na+-Ca2+-SO42− Cl− type water, a composition more typical of interior continental basin ground. For each water type we evaluated 5 different salinity (osmotic) levels of –0.003 (control), –0.15, –0.30, –0.45 and –0.60 MPa. There were no statistically significant differences in the fruit yield relative to the water type, indicating that Cl− ion toxicity is not a major factor in eggplant yield associated with salinity. This conclusion was confirmed by the determination that leaf Cl content was not correlated with relative yield. The electrical conductivity of the saturation extract (ECe) at which yield is predicted to be reduced by 50% was 4.6 dS m−1 for the grafted plants vs. 1.33 dS m−1 for the nongrafted plants. The relative yield was very well correlated to leaf Na concentrations regardless of grafting status, indicating that Na is the toxic ion responsible for eggplant yield loss under saline conditions. The increased salt tolerance of cv Angela eggplant when grafted onto tomato Maxifort rootstock is attributed to a reduced Na uptake and increased Ca and K uptake with Maxifort rootstock.

Utilization of Regional Natural Brines for the Indoor Cultivation of Salicornia europaea

“…Food quality can be influenced by salinity in both glycophytic crops (e.g., Lactuca sativa, Eggplant, Cucumis sativus, and Solanum lycopersicum) as well as in halophytes (e.g., Crithmum maritimum and Salicornia persica) [29,[44][45][46][47]. Chlorophylls and Carotenoids are nutritionally valuable compounds that are associated with health-promoting effects and are particularly abundant in green leafy vegetables.…”

Linking Genetic Determinants With Salinity Tolerance and Ion Relationships in Eggplant, Tomato, and Pepper

“…Previous research suggests that the ability of a plant to manage Na, Cl, and K during salinity stress is critical for its ability to tolerate salinity 24,25,40 . After evaluating these cultivars under the hot eld climatic conditions of southern California for their whole cycle, it is reasonable to assume that, for the cultivars reported here as salt-sensitive, salt effects were related to ion toxicity rather than osmotic stress.…”

“…However, in both tomato 24 and eggplant 25 , there was no signi cant difference in yield between salt solutions dominant in Cl − or SO 4 − , suggesting that Na + is the dominant toxic ion for these species. This conclusion was con rmed by predicting eggplant yield of two different salt-tolerant cultivars, based on leaf Na concentration, but not with leaf Cl concentration 25 .…”

“…However, in both tomato 24 and eggplant 25 , there was no signi cant difference in yield between salt solutions dominant in Cl − or SO 4 − , suggesting that Na + is the dominant toxic ion for these species. This conclusion was con rmed by predicting eggplant yield of two different salt-tolerant cultivars, based on leaf Na concentration, but not with leaf Cl concentration 25 . In a study conducted with pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) using different salt combinations, the greatest fruit yield loss was reported with NaCl salts and the lowest loss with K 2 SO 4 salinizing salts 22 .…”

Analysis of Plant Growth and Yield in Varieties of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Grafted onto Different Eggplant Rootstocks

“…Local varieties have genotypes that adapt easily to the growing environment, such that they are easier to cultivate than varieties originating from other regions [20,21]. e grafting combination can determine plant resistance, expressed through variation in growth, fruit yield and production quality [22][23][24][25][26][27]. A previous study comparing self-grafted plants and controls reported only four statistically significant differences out of a total of 53 cases and concluded that the inclusion of self-grafted treatments is unnecessary [28].…”