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Kruger BR, Sackett JD. Abiotic and biotic factors influencing small-scale corn production along a shade spectrum in arid urban agriculture settings. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301633. [PMID: 38625854 PMCID: PMC11020971 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Urban agriculture may be an avenue to help alleviate strain on the global production of staple crops like corn (Zea mays), but significant knowledge gaps exist regarding the optimization of staple crop production in urban settings, and especially in arid urban settings where different challenges exist for crop success. We sought to assess abiotic and biotic factors that impact sweet corn production in six arid urban agricultural plots with varying levels of shade stress, a known inhibitor of corn production. Corn successfully reached maturity in 50% of the studied plots (n = 18). Microbial richness and diversity were uniformly high in all plot soils and not indicated as a hinderance to corn production nor correlated with corn success. Multiple corn success metrics were positively correlated with average daytime light intensity (r = 0.74 to 0.84) and soil organic matter (r = 0.77 to 0.89), suggesting that these factors are critical aspects of successful corn production. In plots that did not receive optimal light exposure, exceptional soil health and morning vs afternoon sun exposure offset at least some degree of shade stress in these arid urban environments. Corn success metrics were negatively correlated with soil calcium, magnesium, sodium and sulfate (r = -0.71 to -0.90), suggesting that minimizing or mitigating the buildup of salt constituents in soils is critical for successful corn production. Optimizing staple crop production in arid urban agricultural settings supports food chain stability and social and economic security of local communities. This work suggests abiotic and biotic drivers of corn success which can be utilized for crop optimization in these environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany R. Kruger
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America
| | - Joshua D. Sackett
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
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Ben Zineb A, Lamine M, Khallef A, Hamdi H, Ahmed T, Al-Jabri H, Alsafran M, Mliki A, Sayadi S, Gargouri M. Harnessing rhizospheric core microbiomes from arid regions for enhancing date palm resilience to climate change effects. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1362722. [PMID: 38646634 PMCID: PMC11027745 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1362722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Date palm cultivation has thrived in the Gulf Cooperation Council region since ancient times, where it represents a vital sector in agricultural and socio-economic development. However, climate change conditions prevailing for decades in this area, next to rarefication of rain, hot temperatures, intense evapotranspiration, rise of sea level, salinization of groundwater, and intensification of cultivation, contributed to increase salinity in the soil as well as in irrigation water and to seriously threaten date palm cultivation sustainability. There are also growing concerns about soil erosion and its repercussions on date palm oases. While several reviews have reported on solutions to sustain date productivity, including genetic selection of suitable cultivars for the local harsh environmental conditions and the implementation of efficient management practices, no systematic review of the desertic plants' below-ground microbial communities and their potential contributions to date palm adaptation to climate change has been reported yet. Indeed, desert microorganisms are expected to address critical agricultural challenges and economic issues. Therefore, the primary objectives of the present critical review are to (1) analyze and synthesize current knowledge and scientific advances on desert plant-associated microorganisms, (2) review and summarize the impacts of their application on date palm, and (3) identify possible gaps and suggest relevant guidance for desert plant microbes' inoculation approach to sustain date palm cultivation within the Gulf Cooperation Council in general and in Qatar in particular.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ameni Ben Zineb
- Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mariem Lamine
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Centre of Biotechnology of Borj-Cedria, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
| | - Ahlem Khallef
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Centre of Biotechnology of Borj-Cedria, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
- Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
| | - Helmi Hamdi
- Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Talaat Ahmed
- Environmental Science Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Hareb Al-Jabri
- Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mohammed Alsafran
- Agricultural Research Station, Office of VP for Research and Graduate Studies, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ahmed Mliki
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Centre of Biotechnology of Borj-Cedria, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
| | - Sami Sayadi
- Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mahmoud Gargouri
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Centre of Biotechnology of Borj-Cedria, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
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Mundra S, Shockey J, Morsy M. Editorial: Plant microbiome: Ecology, functions, and application trends. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1175556. [PMID: 36959951 PMCID: PMC10029725 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1175556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sunil Mundra
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al−Ain, Abu−Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, United Arab Emirates University, Al−Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Jay Shockey
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Mustafa Morsy
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of West Alabama, Livingston, AL, United States
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Shamim A, Sanka Loganathachetti D, Chandran S, Masmoudi K, Mundra S. Salinity of irrigation water selects distinct bacterial communities associated with date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) root. Sci Rep 2022; 12:12733. [PMID: 35882908 PMCID: PMC9325759 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16869-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Saline water irrigation has been used in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) agriculture as an alternative to non-saline water due to water scarcity in hyper-arid environments. However, the knowledge pertaining to saline water irrigation impact on the root-associated bacterial communities of arid agroecosystems is scarce. In this study, we investigated the effect of irrigation sources (non-saline freshwater vs saline groundwater) on date palm root-associated bacterial communities using 16S rDNA metabarcoding. The bacterial richness, Shannon diversity and evenness didn’t differ significantly between the irrigation sources. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) and irrigation water pH were negatively related to Shannon diversity and evenness respectively, while soil organic matter displayed a positive correlation with Shannon diversity. 40.5% of total Operational Taxonomic Units were unique to non-saline freshwater irrigation, while 26% were unique to saline groundwater irrigation. The multivariate analyses displayed strong structuring of bacterial communities according to irrigation sources, and both soil EC and irrigation water pH were the major factors affecting bacterial communities. The genera Bacillus, Micromonospora and Mycobacterium were dominated while saline water irrigation whereas contrasting pattern was observed for Rhizobium, Streptomyces and Acidibacter. Taken together, we suggest that date-palm roots select specific bacterial taxa under saline groundwater irrigation, which possibly help in alleviating salinity stress and promote growth of the host plant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azra Shamim
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu-Dhabi, UAE
| | | | - Subha Chandran
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu-Dhabi, UAE
| | - Khaled Masmoudi
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu-Dhabi, UAE.
| | - Sunil Mundra
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu-Dhabi, UAE. .,Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
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