Biostimulatory Response of Easily Extractable Glomalin-Related Soil Protein on Soil Fertility Mediated Changes in Fruit Quality of Citrus

Xiao-Qing Liu, Ya-Chao Xie, Yan Li, Li Zheng, Anoop Kumar Srivastava, Abeer Hashem, Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah, Wiwiek Harsonowati and Qiang-Sheng Wu
Additional contact information
Xiao-Qing Liu: College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China
Ya-Chao Xie: Yichang Citrus Science Institute, Yichang 443005, China
Yan Li: Xingshan County Special Products Bureau, Yichang 443711, China
Li Zheng: Xianning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xianning 437000, China
Anoop Kumar Srivastava: ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute, Nagpur 440033, India
Abeer Hashem: Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah: Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Wiwiek Harsonowati: Agrobiology and Bioresources Department, School of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University, 350 Mine-machi, Utsunomiya 321-8505, Tochigi, Japan
Qiang-Sheng Wu: College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi secrete glomalin deposited into the soil as glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP), which possess multiple utility to benefit both soil as well as plant health. The present study aimed to assess the effects of the foliar application of an easily extractable GRSP (EE-GRSP) on the fruit quality, soil nutrients, and soil structural changes in three important citrus varieties (Satsuma mandarin Oita 4, Newhall navel orange, and Cocktail grapefruit). The exogenous EE-GRSP significantly elevated root mycorrhizal fungal colonization and soil hyphal length in Newhall and Oita 4 varieties, but without any such response in Cocktail grapefruit variety. The foliar spray of the EE-GRSP improved different external (e.g., pericarp, sarcocarp, and single fruit weight) and internal (e.g., soluble solids, titratable acids, and sugar contents) qualities of fruits to varying magnitudes, depending on citrus variety, with a more prominent effect on Cocktail grapefruit. EE-GRSP-treated fruits of Newhall and Oita 4 were more suitable for processing than non-treated control because of a low fruit hardness. However, no significant effect of the EE-GRSP was observed on the internal quality parameters of Newhall. EE-GRSP-treated citrus trees represented higher soil available nutrients over control, to some extent, especially on Oita 4. The foliar application of the EE-GRSP also increased various GRSP fractions to varying proportions and improved the distribution of water-stable aggregates in the size fraction of 0.25–2 mm, thereby increasing the mean weight diameter, particularly in Newhall and Cocktail grapefruit varieties. These observations provided clues about the stimulatory role of the EE-GRSP through soil structure and nutrient pool-mediated improvements in fruit quality.

Keywords: aggregate; glomalin; mycorrhiza; soil organic carbon; sugar (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:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/8/1076/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/8/1076/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:8:p:1076-:d:869238

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().