Superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of Moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiency
IntroductionIt is desirable to rehabilitate desert ecosystems with a selection of native plant species that render ecosystem services and yield natural products for creating a high-value industry, e.g., pharmaceuticals or cosmetics. However, plant growth under arid and hyper-arid conditions, such as...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1434462/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850146529363361792 |
|---|---|
| author | Kennedy Odokonyero Kennedy Odokonyero Kennedy Odokonyero Bob Vernooij Bob Vernooij Bob Vernooij Batool Albar Batool Albar Batool Albar Lisa Oki Exposito Lisa Oki Exposito Lisa Oki Exposito Aishah Alsamdani Aishah Alsamdani Aishah Alsamdani Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Najeh Kharbatia Adair Gallo Himanshu Mishra Himanshu Mishra Himanshu Mishra |
| author_facet | Kennedy Odokonyero Kennedy Odokonyero Kennedy Odokonyero Bob Vernooij Bob Vernooij Bob Vernooij Batool Albar Batool Albar Batool Albar Lisa Oki Exposito Lisa Oki Exposito Lisa Oki Exposito Aishah Alsamdani Aishah Alsamdani Aishah Alsamdani Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Najeh Kharbatia Adair Gallo Himanshu Mishra Himanshu Mishra Himanshu Mishra |
| author_sort | Kennedy Odokonyero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionIt is desirable to rehabilitate desert ecosystems with a selection of native plant species that render ecosystem services and yield natural products for creating a high-value industry, e.g., pharmaceuticals or cosmetics. However, plant growth under arid and hyper-arid conditions, such as in the Arabian Peninsula, is constrained by heat, freshwater scarcity, and alkaline sandy soils with low nutrient and water holding capacity. Therefore, it is imperative to develop nature-based sustainable technologies to improve arid soil conditions, as well as increase irrigation and nutrient-use eficiency.MethodsHere, we report on a study evaluating the effects of two complementary soil amendment technologies, namely Superhydrophobic sand (SHS) mulch and engineered biochar (EB) on the growth of Moringa oleifera plants. Effects of SHS (1cm-thick), EB (2% w/w), and SHS+EB treatments were tracked in greenhouse plants under normal (N, 100% field capacity) and reduced (R, 50% of N) irrigation scenarios for over 150 days, where EB treatments were pre-loaded with nutrients and remaining treatments received traditional NPK fertilizer.ResultsSignificant benefits of the SHS, EB, and SHS+EB treatments were found in terms of increased plant height, trunk diameter, leaf area, leaf chlorophyll content index, stomatal conductance, and shoot and root biomass in comparison with the controls. Evaporation water savings due to SHS mulching significantly enhanced transpiration under N and R scenarios. Similarly, EB and SHS+EB treated plants experienced higher transpiration than in the control plants under N and R conditions (p< 0.05). In response to water stress due to excessive evaporation, metabolomics analysis showed a higher accumulation of amino acids in control plants than other treatments under both irrigation regimes. Meanwhile, a higher abundance of sugars (i.e., D-Mannose, D-Fructose, glucose) and organic acid (i.e., malic acid) was observed in SHS and EB-treatments for Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) scores >1.0 (i.e., the scores considered of significance in contributing to the differences between treatment groups).DiscussionThe results show the synergistic benefits of SHS and EB technologies for addressing the challenges of water scarcity and nutrient limitation in arid regions, which couldcontribute to the success and sustainability of agriculture and greening efforts in such regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-23abace5f2d04d7fb1fceb8ca4aed827 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-23abace5f2d04d7fb1fceb8ca4aed8272025-08-20T02:27:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2024-11-011510.3389/fpls.2024.14344621434462Superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of Moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiencyKennedy Odokonyero0Kennedy Odokonyero1Kennedy Odokonyero2Bob Vernooij3Bob Vernooij4Bob Vernooij5Batool Albar6Batool Albar7Batool Albar8Lisa Oki Exposito9Lisa Oki Exposito10Lisa Oki Exposito11Aishah Alsamdani12Aishah Alsamdani13Aishah Alsamdani14Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider15Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider16Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider17Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf18Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf19Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf20Najeh Kharbatia21Adair Gallo22Himanshu Mishra23Himanshu Mishra24Himanshu Mishra25Environmental Science and Engineering (EnSE) Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaEnvironmental Science and Engineering (EnSE) Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaEnvironmental Science and Engineering (EnSE) Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaEnvironmental Science and Engineering (EnSE) Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaEnvironmental Science and Engineering (EnSE) Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaEnvironmental Science and Engineering (EnSE) Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaEnvironmental Science and Engineering (EnSE) Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaTerraxy LLC, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaEnvironmental Science and Engineering (EnSE) Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaIntroductionIt is desirable to rehabilitate desert ecosystems with a selection of native plant species that render ecosystem services and yield natural products for creating a high-value industry, e.g., pharmaceuticals or cosmetics. However, plant growth under arid and hyper-arid conditions, such as in the Arabian Peninsula, is constrained by heat, freshwater scarcity, and alkaline sandy soils with low nutrient and water holding capacity. Therefore, it is imperative to develop nature-based sustainable technologies to improve arid soil conditions, as well as increase irrigation and nutrient-use eficiency.MethodsHere, we report on a study evaluating the effects of two complementary soil amendment technologies, namely Superhydrophobic sand (SHS) mulch and engineered biochar (EB) on the growth of Moringa oleifera plants. Effects of SHS (1cm-thick), EB (2% w/w), and SHS+EB treatments were tracked in greenhouse plants under normal (N, 100% field capacity) and reduced (R, 50% of N) irrigation scenarios for over 150 days, where EB treatments were pre-loaded with nutrients and remaining treatments received traditional NPK fertilizer.ResultsSignificant benefits of the SHS, EB, and SHS+EB treatments were found in terms of increased plant height, trunk diameter, leaf area, leaf chlorophyll content index, stomatal conductance, and shoot and root biomass in comparison with the controls. Evaporation water savings due to SHS mulching significantly enhanced transpiration under N and R scenarios. Similarly, EB and SHS+EB treated plants experienced higher transpiration than in the control plants under N and R conditions (p< 0.05). In response to water stress due to excessive evaporation, metabolomics analysis showed a higher accumulation of amino acids in control plants than other treatments under both irrigation regimes. Meanwhile, a higher abundance of sugars (i.e., D-Mannose, D-Fructose, glucose) and organic acid (i.e., malic acid) was observed in SHS and EB-treatments for Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) scores >1.0 (i.e., the scores considered of significance in contributing to the differences between treatment groups).DiscussionThe results show the synergistic benefits of SHS and EB technologies for addressing the challenges of water scarcity and nutrient limitation in arid regions, which couldcontribute to the success and sustainability of agriculture and greening efforts in such regions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1434462/fullMoringa oleiferaevapotranspirationmetabolomic profilingdate palm biocharsuperhydrophobic sandsoil amendments |
| spellingShingle | Kennedy Odokonyero Kennedy Odokonyero Kennedy Odokonyero Bob Vernooij Bob Vernooij Bob Vernooij Batool Albar Batool Albar Batool Albar Lisa Oki Exposito Lisa Oki Exposito Lisa Oki Exposito Aishah Alsamdani Aishah Alsamdani Aishah Alsamdani Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Amin Akhtar Ghulam Haider Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Nayara Vivian Huve Musskopf Najeh Kharbatia Adair Gallo Himanshu Mishra Himanshu Mishra Himanshu Mishra Superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of Moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiency Frontiers in Plant Science Moringa oleifera evapotranspiration metabolomic profiling date palm biochar superhydrophobic sand soil amendments |
| title | Superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of Moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiency |
| title_full | Superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of Moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiency |
| title_fullStr | Superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of Moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of Moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiency |
| title_short | Superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of Moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiency |
| title_sort | superhydrophobic sand mulch and date palm biochar boost growth of moringa oleifera in sandy soils via enhanced irrigation and nutrient use efficiency |
| topic | Moringa oleifera evapotranspiration metabolomic profiling date palm biochar superhydrophobic sand soil amendments |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1434462/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kennedyodokonyero superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT kennedyodokonyero superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT kennedyodokonyero superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT bobvernooij superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT bobvernooij superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT bobvernooij superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT batoolalbar superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT batoolalbar superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT batoolalbar superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT lisaokiexposito superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT lisaokiexposito superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT lisaokiexposito superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT aishahalsamdani superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT aishahalsamdani superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT aishahalsamdani superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT aminakhtarghulamhaider superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT aminakhtarghulamhaider superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT aminakhtarghulamhaider superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT nayaravivianhuvemusskopf superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT nayaravivianhuvemusskopf superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT nayaravivianhuvemusskopf superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT najehkharbatia superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT adairgallo superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT himanshumishra superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT himanshumishra superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency AT himanshumishra superhydrophobicsandmulchanddatepalmbiocharboostgrowthofmoringaoleiferainsandysoilsviaenhancedirrigationandnutrientuseefficiency |