Effect of halophyte-based management in physiological and biochemical responses of tomato plants under moderately saline greenhouse conditions

Salinity, both in irrigation water and in soils, is one of the major abiotic constraints for agriculture activity worldwide. Phytodesalinization is a low-cost plant-based bioremediation strategy that can effectively amend salt affected soils by cultivating salt tolerant plants. However, very few studies have evaluated the use of halophyte plants in crop management systems. In this work, we apply two different tomato crop management strategies involving the halophyte Arthrocaulon macrostachyum L. in a moderately saline soil: intercropping (mixed cultivation) and sequential cropping (cultivation of tomato where halophytes were previously grown). We investigated the effect of the different crop managements in some physiological and biochemical variables in tomato plants, including mineral nutrients content, photosynthesis, chlorophyll and flavonol contents, antioxidant metabolism and fruit production and quality. At soil level, both intercropping and sequential cropping decreased chloride content, sodium adsorption ratio and electrical conductivity, leading to reduced soil salinity. In tomato plants, halophyte-dependent management improved nutrient homeostasis and triggered a mild oxidative stress, whereas photosynthesis performance was enhanced by intercropping. In tomato fruits, the sequential cropping led to a 27% production increase and a slight decrease in the soluble sugar contents. We suggest the use of A. macrostachyum, and hence of halophyte plants, as an environmentally friendly phytoremediation strategy to improve plant performance while improving crop production, leading to a more sustainable agriculture and enhancing biodiversity.