Morpho-chemical and molecular diversity estimation of Haloxylon spp.- A neglected industrial halophytic species in Thar Desert of Western Rajasthan (India)
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Title |
Morpho-chemical and molecular diversity estimation of Haloxylon spp.- A neglected industrial halophytic species in Thar Desert of Western Rajasthan (India)
Not Available |
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Creator |
R. R. Meghwal
A. K. Sharma J. P. Singh S. Kumar R. Sharma |
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Subject |
Chenopodiaceae
Haloxylon spp minerals saline soils saji Halophyte |
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Description |
Not Available
India is one of the countries severely affected by Land degradation (including desertification in drylands). The total area of degraded land is estimated to affect at least one-third of the 328 mha geographical area in India. In degraded land, arid areas (49.5 mha) are the worst affected, especially in the western part of Rajasthan state that includes the Thar Desert (20.87 m ha), as well as in arid Gujarat (6.22 m ha). The rehabilitation and ecological restoration are major tasks in the Thar Desert due to overexploitation of fragile resources, recurrent drought, high wind, poor sandy soils, wind erosion, salinity-alkalinity and vegetation degradation. The success of an ecological and vegetation restoration largely depend on choosing the appropriate genetic sources, and the use of native plants (Sheng et al., 30), especially in harsher environments of Thar Desert. The amount and partitioning of genetic variation within a species andits distribution within and among populationsis correlated with the factors that govern the maintenance of variation,inbreeding, population history, and gene flow (Ayres and Ryan, 3; Sheng et al., 30). Despite extensive ecological research on plants from arid regions, there is a lack of information on concerning levels of genetic variation in these systems (Hu and Wang, 12).Knowledge of the genetic structure of xerophytic plants is central to designing effective conservation strategies for restoration and rational exploitation of vegetation especially in stressful environmental conditions. Long-lived perennials like Haloxylon due to its great drought resistance and saline tolerance are ecologically important component of deserts, particularly in Thar Desert, where they display high levels of endemicity. The Haloxylon spp., members of family chenopodiaceae, are among the important xerophytes of Thar Desert of India. H. salicornicumand H. recurvum-succulent undershurbsare important members of this genus which are able to produce biomass in barren lands, without water supply. Haloxylon spp. are also used as fuel, fodder and food bylocal habitants. As a dominant desert species, it plays an important role in the maintenance of the structure and function of the whole desert ecosystem by reducing wind speed and ameliorating the arid climate.It perpetuates by seeds and creamy white or light pinkish flowers appear during September-October months. The plants have good economic and environmental values for the inhabitant of Thar Desert of western Rajasthan. The details of economic products, production cost and returns are explained in Rathoreet al. (24). The labor cost is major component of cultivation cost. The cultivator can get $ 238.4 ha”1 returns.H. salicornicum (common name lana) grows naturally in sandy undulating hummocky plain dunes, inter-dunes and also in course of the ancient Saraswati river(Shanker and Kumar, 29). Hence, plants thrive under adverse conditions of sandy and saline soils of this region. Ash of plant is also used as a tooth powder. H. salicornicumseeds having 18.60% crude protein could replace about 25% of the conventional sesamum cake in the concentrate for lactating cows (Anonymous, 2). The plant is a good soil binder and stabilizer of sand dunes. H. recurvum is a good source of crude Sodium Carbonate- Barilla or saji-khar. The saji is an essential and vital ingredient in papad making industries (Rathoreet al., 24), and contributes to organoleptic quality in terms of crispness and expansion of fried papads. Papads are flat, thin, circular product that can be roasted or fried instantly. On dry weight basis, saji contains 31% Sodium and 34%. Carbonate. Ash extract of this plant is in high demand in papad industries as its salt is a special ingredient for unique taste of famous Bikaneripapad. Carbonate of soda obtained from species is used in soap and glass industry (Khan and Qaiser, 15). The ash is also used as substitute of soap for cleaning clothes. In Pakistan, plant is burnt to get carbonate of soda which is used as an alternate of soap for cloth washing. In India the plant ash is used as a substitute of soap by washer. The ash of crude saji has 1143-1391 meq Na L-1, 97-153 meq K L-1 and 101-210 meq Mg L-1. Among anions CO3, HCO3, Cl and SO4 constitute 960- 1180, 20-30, 315-420 and 31-202 meq L-1, respectively(Rathoreet al., 24). Despite its ecological and economical importance, both species are suffering from severe loss due to land reclamation and cultivation, over-grazing, over-cutting and digging, consequently both species are in a state of extinction (Dagla, and Shekhawat, 7) and increased mobility of sand dunes; and little is known about its genetic aspects. Moreover, the plants are found as wildstands in Thar Desert, their systematic cultivation is difficult. Second, because of the overuse of these species, their existence is in the state of extinction. So, conservation of such gene pool acclimatized to hot region with high salinity is important for arid region. A literature search reveals that with some exceptions of morphological studies, the scientific information on this xerophyte is completely lacking. It is presumed that the information on morpho-chemical and nutritive variation of Haloxylon spp. will help in identifying species for specific purpose. So in present investigation, the variability has also been studied at molecular level using RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) markers. Materials and methods Plant materials Twenty one genotypes of Haloxylonspp. (fifteen genotypes of H. salicornicum and six genotypes of H. recurvum) werecollected from different parts of Thar Desert. All these genotypes are maintained under field condition at regional research station, Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Bikaner (India). The studied region experience low and erratic annual rainfall (100 and 150 mm.), extreme temperatures (-3.0 to 49.0°C), long sunshine duration (6.6- 10 hours), low relative humidity (20%-60%)/high wind velocity (9-13 kmh-1) and high evapo-transpiration (1600- 1800 mm). The soils are poor in nutrients, wind erosion occurs on a mammoth scale and paucity of water is a perennial bottleneck. |
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Date |
2019-05-25T11:01:05Z
2019-05-25T11:01:05Z 2014-01-01 |
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Type |
Research Paper
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Identifier |
Not Available
Not Available http://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/handle/123456789/19867 |
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Language |
English
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Relation |
Not Available;
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Not Available
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