Camalle, M.; Standing, D.; Jitan, M.; Muhaisen, R.; Bader, N.; Bsoul, M.; Ventura, Y.; Soltabayeva, A.; Sagi, M. Effect of Salinity and Nitrogen Sources on the Leaf Quality, Biomass, and Metabolic Responses of Two Ecotypes of Portulaca oleracea. Agronomy2020, 10, 656.
Camalle, M.; Standing, D.; Jitan, M.; Muhaisen, R.; Bader, N.; Bsoul, M.; Ventura, Y.; Soltabayeva, A.; Sagi, M. Effect of Salinity and Nitrogen Sources on the Leaf Quality, Biomass, and Metabolic Responses of Two Ecotypes of Portulaca oleracea. Agronomy 2020, 10, 656.
Camalle, M.; Standing, D.; Jitan, M.; Muhaisen, R.; Bader, N.; Bsoul, M.; Ventura, Y.; Soltabayeva, A.; Sagi, M. Effect of Salinity and Nitrogen Sources on the Leaf Quality, Biomass, and Metabolic Responses of Two Ecotypes of Portulaca oleracea. Agronomy2020, 10, 656.
Camalle, M.; Standing, D.; Jitan, M.; Muhaisen, R.; Bader, N.; Bsoul, M.; Ventura, Y.; Soltabayeva, A.; Sagi, M. Effect of Salinity and Nitrogen Sources on the Leaf Quality, Biomass, and Metabolic Responses of Two Ecotypes of Portulaca oleracea. Agronomy 2020, 10, 656.
Abstract
Halophytic plants are, by definition, well adapted to saline soils. However, even halophytes can face nutritional imbalance and accumulation of high levels of compounds such as oxalic acid (OA), and nitrate (NO3¯). These compounds compromise the potential nutritional health benefits associated with salt tolerant plants such as Portulaca oleracea. Thus, preventing the accumulation of non-nutritional compounds will allow plants to be grown in saline conditions as crops. To this end, two ecotypes (ET and RN) of Portulaca oleracea plants were grown under growth room conditions with two levels of salinity (0, 50 mM NaCl) and three ratios of nitrate: ammonium (0:100%; 33:66%; 25:75% NO3¯:NH4+). The results showed that both ecotypes exposed to elevated NO3¯, showed severe leaf chlorosis, high levels of OA, citric acid, and malic acid, while plants of ecotype ET exposed to elevated NH4+ concentrations (33% and 75%) and 50 mM NaCl displayed a marked reduction in OA content, increased total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, crude protein content, total fatty acid (TFA) and α-Linolenic acid (ALA) thus enhancing leaf quality. This opens the potential to grow high biomass, low OA P. oleracae crops. Lastly, our experiments suggest that ecotype ET copes with saline conditions and elevated NH4+ through shifts in leaf metabolites.
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