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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pendleton, Oregon » Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #407031
Research Project: Attaining High Quality Soft White Winter Wheat through Optimal Management of Nitrogen, Residue and Soil Microbes

Location: Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center

Title: Exploring the application of signaling compounds and soil amendments to modulate plant-microbe interactions for improved plant salinity tolerance

Author
item PRIYA, SHWETA - Texas A&M University
item SOMENAHALLY, ANIL - Texas Agrilife Research
item OBAVOMI, OLABIYI - Texas Agrilife Research
item GENTRY, TERRY - Texas A&M University
item SARKER, TUSHAR - Texas Agrilife
item BRADY, JEFF - Texas Agrilife Research
item Adams, Curtis

Submitted to: Plant and Soil
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/23/2024
Publication Date: 3/5/2024
Citation: Priya, S., Somenahally, A., Obavomi, O., Gentry, T., Sarker, T., Brady, J., Adams, C.B. 2024. Exploring the application of signaling compounds and soil amendments to modulate plant-microbe interactions for improved plant salinity tolerance. Plant and Soil. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06512-1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06512-1

Interpretive Summary: Pending

Technical Abstract: Soil salinity presents a major constraint for symbiotic root-microbe interactions and overall soil health and crop productivity. While compost amendments effectively improve soil health, their limited availability and high costs often make them impractical in drylands where salinity is prevalent. As an alternative approach, we investigated the foliar application of signaling compounds. In tThis study, evaluated cowpea plants were evaluated under the treatments of foliar application of strigolactones (SL), salicylic acid (SA), and coumarins (CMR), soil amendment with gypsum (GP) and compost (CMP), and a control system (CS). The microbiome structure in the rhizosphere, roots, leaves, and seeds were assessed, along with root traits, nodulation, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AMF) colonization, nutrient concentrations, and biomass yield. The results demonstrated the detrimental effects of soil salinity stress, as AMF colonization, nodulation, nutrient acquisition, and yield were significantly reduced in the CS-treatment. Several treatments exhibited positive effects, with CMP and SL+SA treatments yielding the most comprehensive improvements. The SL+SA treatment outperformed CMP in enhancing nodulation and AMF colonization. CMP treatment resulted in the highest above-ground biomass and below-ground biomass, but these were not statistically different thanfrom the SL+SA treatment. Only the CMP treatment induced a significant shift in the microbiome structure, while the leaf and seed microbiomes remained stable. The increased abundance of several genera in the SL+SA treatment indicated their effectiveness as beneficial keystone taxa, which seems to be most impactful for salinity tolerance. Overall, findings confirm that the application of signaling compounds is a viable strategy for enhancing symbiotic root-microbe interactions and improving plant productivity in saline soils.