The Effects of Suaeda salsa / Zea mays L. Intercropping on Plant Growth and Soil Chemical Characteristics in Saline Soil

Shoule Wang, Zhenyong Zhao, Shaoqing Ge, Ke Zhang, Changyan Tian and Wenxuan Mai
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Shoule Wang: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Zhenyong Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Shaoqing Ge: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Ke Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Changyan Tian: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Wenxuan Mai: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Halophytes possess the capacity to uptake high levels of salt through physiological processes and their root architecture. Here, we investigated whether halophyte/non-halophyte intercropping in saline soil benefits plant growth and contains root-dialogue between interspecific species. Field and pot experiments were conducted to determine the plant biomasses and salt and nutrient distributions in three suaeda ( Suaeda salsa )/maize ( Zea mays L.) intercropping systems, set up by non-barrier, nylon-barrier, and plastic-barrier between plant roots. The suaeda/maize intercropping obviously transferred more Na + to the suaeda root zone and decreased salt and Na + contents. However, the biomass of the non-barrier-treated maize was significantly lower than that of the nylon and plastic barrier-treated maize. There was lower available N content in the soil of the non-barrier treated groups compared with the plastic barrier-treated groups. In addition, the pH was lower, and the available nutrient content was higher in the nylon barrier, which suggested that rhizospheric processes might occur between the two species. Therefore, we concluded that the suaeda/maize intercropping would be beneficial to the salt removal, but it caused an adverse effect for maize growth due to interspecific competition, and also revealed potential rhizospheric effects through the role of roots. This study provides an effective way for the improvement of saline land.

Keywords: maize; intercropping; Suaeda salsa; saline soil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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