This research provides key insights into how microbial inoculants can offer a cost-effective, eco-friendly strategy to enhance crop resilience in saline soils.
Soil salinization is a major global challenge that severely impacts agricultural productivity, with over 3% of the Earth's terrestrial surface affected. It threatens food security by causing osmotic, ionic, and oxidative stress, which can reduce crop yields by more than 50%. Traditional remediation methods, such as physical and chemical interventions, are often prohibitively expensive. However, microorganisms, particularly endophytic fungi, have shown promise in enhancing plant growth and resilience under salt stress. These fungi, which live inside plant tissues without causing harm, have been found to help plants adapt to extreme environmental conditions, including salinity. Researchers are increasingly turning to beneficial microorganisms as a sustainable solution to mitigate salt stress in plants.
A study (DOI: 10.48130/tp-0025-0005) published in Tropical Plants on 19 March 2025 by Yanping Hu and Yang Zhou's team, Hainan University, offers a cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative to costly soil amendments.
In this study, 426 cultivable root endophytic fungi (EF) were isolated from 1,180 tissue blocks of Sesuvium portulacastrum using a tissue block method. These fungi were subjected to sequencing and analysis through the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) in the NCBI database, resulting in the classification of 426 sequences into 112 distinct operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The diversity indices of EF across 20 sampling sites varied significantly. The Shannon-Wiener index showed the highest diversity in regions such as HK-BS (2.45), and the Simpson index was highest in QH-GH (0.91). Fusarium was identified as the most prevalent genus, followed by Pleosporales and Monosporascus. A plate screening method was used to assess salt tolerance, revealing that eight EF strains, including LG-BZ-9, showed enhanced growth under saline conditions, with colony diameters 1.6 to 1.8 times larger than the control. Strain LG-BZ-9 was further evaluated for its effects on maize growth under salt stress. Results showed that maize treated with LG-BZ-9 exhibited significantly improved growth, including increased fresh weight, plant height, and chlorophyll content, compared to untreated plants exposed to 250 mM NaCl. Additionally, LG-BZ-9 treatment led to a higher potassium (K+) concentration and lower sodium (Na+) concentration in maize tissues, improving the K+/Na+ ratio and enhancing the plant's salt tolerance. These findings suggest that salt-tolerant EF such as LG-BZ-9 can improve maize growth and salt tolerance by modulating ion homeostasis, offering a promising approach for enhancing crop resilience in saline environments.
This study demonstrates the promising role of endophytic fungi from halophytes in enhancing the salt tolerance and growth of maize under saline conditions. By improving ion balance and modulating plant growth, F. incarnatum LG-BZ-9 offers a potential solution for sustainable crop production in saline-affected regions. These findings lay the groundwork for the development of microbial-based agricultural strategies that can support global efforts to combat soil salinization and ensure food security in the face of environmental challenges.
