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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
 
Creator R. R. Meghwal
A. K. Sharma
J. P. Singh
S. Kumar
R. Sharma
 
Subject Chenopodiaceae
Haloxylon spp
minerals
saline soils
saji
Halophyte
 
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.
 
Date 2019-05-25T11:01:05Z
2019-05-25T11:01:05Z
2014-01-01
 
Type Research Paper
 
Identifier Not Available
Not Available
http://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/handle/123456789/19867
 
Language English
 
Relation Not Available;
 
Publisher Not Available