Grafting improves salinity tolerance of bell pepper plants during greenhouse production

• Published in: Horticulture, environment and biotechnology 2021, Environment, and Biotechnology, 62(6), , pp.831-844
• Main Authors: Orosco-Alcalá, Blanca E., Núñez-Palenius, Héctor G., Díaz-Serrano, Fidel, Pérez-Moreno, Luis, Valencia-Posadas, Mauricio, Trejo-Tellez, Libia I., Cruz-Huerta, Nicacio, Valiente-Banuet, Juan I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Crop damage; Crop yield; Cultivars; Damage; Design factors; Electrical conductivity; Electrical resistivity; Factorial experiments; Fruits; Grafting; Greenhouses; Homeostasis; Immunological tolerance; Life Sciences; Moisture content; Morphology; Photosynthesis; Physical characteristics; Physiological effects; Physiology; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Ecology; Plant growth; Plant Physiology; Power plants; Research Report; Rootstocks; Salinity; Salinity effects; Salinity tolerance; Salts; Sodium chloride; Stomata; Stomatal conductance; Transpiration; Vegetables; Water content; 농학
• ISSN: 2211-3452; 2211-3460
• DOI: 10.1007/s13580-021-00362-x

Biotic and abiotic stresses affect plant growth and productivity. High-salinity stress affects crop yield, causing financial loss to growers. The use of salt-tolerant rootstocks is a strategy that has been used to reduce salt damage in crops. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of salinity-resistant rootstocks on the physiological and morphological characteristics of bell pepper plants grown under greenhouse conditions. A factorial experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with two factors. The bell pepper ‘Viper’ cultivar was grafted on two reported salinity-tolerant rootstocks (E21R10144 and E21R10197), and non-grafted (NG) plants were used as the control. Four salinity levels were applied to the plants (electrical conductivity treatments using NaCl of 2, 4, 6, and 8 dS m −1 ) in Steiner nutritive solution (100%). The response to salinity was determined using morphological and physiological plant parameters, including fruit yield. Increased tolerance to salinity conditions (NaCl) was observed in the ‘Viper’ bell pepper grafted on E21R10144, which allowed greater plant height, stem diameter, leaf size, as well as fresh and dry biomass of both the roots and canopy. The impacts on plant physiological response, including photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration, water content, stomatal density, and foliar area, were also determined. Our results indicate that the use of the salinity-tolerant bell pepper rootstock E21R10144 maintained plant homeostasis and minimized the damage caused by salts to the morphology and physiology, as well as effects on fruit yield; thus, it is a promising tool for the management of salt stress.