Intercropping Halophytes to Mitigate Salinity Stress in Watermelon

Saline irrigation water can lead to salt buildup and reduced crop yields. Halophytic plants are known to accumulate excess salts in tissues, removing them from the immediate environment. This two-phase experiment explored the feasibility of intercropping watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2018-03, Vol.10 (3), p.681
Main Authors: Simpson, Catherine, Franco, Jose, King, Stephen, Volder, Astrid
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural practices
Agricultural production
Citrullus
Crop yield
Crops
Deionization
Experiments
Feasibility studies
Growth rate
Halophytes
Impaired water use
Intercropping
Irrigation
Irrigation water
Plant tissues
Salts
Sodium
Sustainability
Water potential
Water quality
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Summary:Saline irrigation water can lead to salt buildup and reduced crop yields. Halophytic plants are known to accumulate excess salts in tissues, removing them from the immediate environment. This two-phase experiment explored the feasibility of intercropping watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. and Nakai var. lanatus) with halophytic species to mitigate the negative effects of saline irrigation water while providing a value-added crop. In the first experiment, six greenhouse-grown species were irrigated with water that was either deionized (0 dS m−1) or contained 3 or 6 dS m−1 of salts for 41 days and screened for growth and salt removal. Two halophytes were selected to be additively intercropped with watermelon under field conditions and irrigated with the same saline irrigation levels as the first experiment. Results indicated that garden orache (Atriplex hortensis L.) exhibited the highest growth rates and purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) accumulated high amounts of sodium in plant tissues under saline irrigation. The field experiment showed that watermelon yields, stem water potential, and fruit quality were not affected by saline irrigation; however, the watermelon/orache intercropping treatment had significantly higher yields. These results suggest intercropping with halophytes has the potential to contribute a value-added crop without reducing watermelon yields.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su10030681