Chedly Abdelly

• Center of Biotechnogy of Borj Cédria

This presentation was carried out as part of the ARIMNET 2 (BEST) project (mid-term evaluation) realized by a consortium of establishments (Borj Cedria Centre of Biotechnology (Tunisia), National Center for Scientific Research (“CNRS” France), National Institute of Agronomic Research (France), Agro Innovation International (France), National Resear...

Facilitation among plants in dry ecosystems is crucial for diversity and ecosystem functioning and stability. However, the importance of facilitation in extremely stressful conditions is highly debated. We attempt to separate the effects of direct non-resource and resource stress factors on plant–plant interactions by assessing changes in facilitat...

Calcareous soils, characterized by a higher pH, are frequent in the North West of Tunisia. Large concentrations of calcium carbonate in calcareous soils result in accumulation of high levels of bicarbonate ions, which complex with phosphate, resulting in phosphorus deficiency (induced P deficiency) for plants. The impact of calcareous soil on plant...

Field experiment was carried out at the experimental research station of Nubaria, representing the newly reclaimed sandy loam soils of Egypt. The study was done to evaluate the nutrient status of barley varieties (Egyptian, Tunisian, Algerian and Morocco) grown under normal (75% water holding capacity=WHC) and stress condition (40% WHC). Results in...

Field experiment carried out at Nubaria Agricultural Research station, National Research Centre, Egypt to study the role of antitranspirants application{Salicylic Acid (SA), K 2 SO 4 and MgCO 3 } in alleviating drought-induced changes of some sensitive barley varieties. Foliar application of the antitranspirants compounds registered a positive effe...

Disentangling short‐ and long‐term neighbour effects, using both removal and observational methods within a single experiment, has strongly improved our understanding of the driving mechanisms of plant–plant interactions. However, there has been no attempt to assess two important underlying processes of their changes along gradients, either environ...

Field experiment carried out in the Experimental Research Station of Nubaria, National Research Centre, Egypt to study the influence of drought stress on physiological and morphological structures of the Mediterranean barley (Egyptian, Tunisian, Algerian and Morocco) varieties focusing on chlorophyll, proline content, leaf area and free amino acids...

Field experiments carried out at the Experimental Research Station of Nubaria, during two seasons of 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 to characterize the Mediterranean barley (Egyptian, Tunisian, Algerian and Morocco) varieties grown under water stress (40% WHC) and normal irrigation (75% WHC). The barley grain yield had a positive and highly significant co...

The aim of this work was to investigate the role of salicylic acid (SA) seed priming on plant growth, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis and ionic composition in two ecotypes of Medicago sativa (Gabes and Presmenti) when subjected to salinity (75 mM) and iron deficiency (1 μM) either separately or combined. Our results showed that under unprimed c...

Drought is the major a biotic stress that reduces plant growth and crop productivity worldwide. AquaCrop model is one of the most widely used simulation models, which simulates the growth, yield and water productivity of the crops. Field experiment was carried out in the Experimental Research Station of Nubaria, during two seasons of 2016/2017 and...

Questions Complex distal factors such as climate and topography can interact to drive direct proximal ecological gradients and vegetation zonation in geographical and ecological space, in particular salinity and soil moisture in arid climates. We pose the following questions: (a) Does increasing climate aridity alter direct water and salinity gradi...

Due to the extreme conditions that usually occur in Mediterranean climates, the objective of this work is to study the combined and/or separate effects of saline and alkaline stresses in Portulaca oleracea. The study was carried out to determine the nutritional food potential in relation to plant physiological parameters. The results show that alka...

Salinity is one of the most important abiotic stress affecting plant growth and productivity worldwide. Photosynthesis, together with cell growth, is among the primary process affected by salinity. Here, we report the effects of salt stress on photosynthesis in the model halophyte Thellungiella salsuginea. Plants were grown in hydroponic system and...

In order to investigate the effects of drought stress on germination components of barley cultivars, a laboratory experiment was conducted in a factorial randomized complete design with four replications. The controlled experiment included ten of Egyptian barley cultivars namely; (Giza 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 134, 135 and 2000) as first...

Landraces represent a crucial reservoir of gene pool for crop improvement and a valuable germplasm for sustainable agriculture towards climate change. To establish conservation strategies for barley germplasm, 31 North African landraces were characterized by associating morphogenetic data with molecular markers. Partial relationships were found bet...

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of phosphate fertilization on the biological and grain yield and to identify the optimum dose generating the best performance of these two varieties, which had extraordinary β-glucan content in previous study. Four rates of P (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg of P2O5/ha) were applied at sowing date...

Changes in growth, leaf contents of proline, oxidative stress-related parameters, and phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activities were investigated in the halophyte species Sesuvium portulacastrum L. under saline conditions. Rooted cuttings were individually cultivated in sandy soil. After five weeks of pre-treatment, seedlings were submitted du...

Salinity and phosphorus (P) deficiency are important environmental factors that decrease plant growth and productivity throughout the world. These two stresses frequently coexist in calcareous salt-affected soils. To better understand how plants adapt to these combined stresses, we investigated the interactive effects of salinity and P availability...

Nitric oxide (NO) – an endogenous signalling molecule in plants and animals – mediates responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, we examined the role of exogenous application of NO in mediating stress responses in Cakile maritima Scop. seedlings under water deficit stress using sodium nitroprusside (SNP) as NO donor and as a p...

Occurrence and distribution pattern of fungal endophytes in different tissues of halophytic plants across saline depressions are poorly studied. We investigated the endophytic fungal communities inhabiting roots, stems and leaves of Hordeum maritimum collected in a soil salinity gradient, i.e. non-saline, slightly saline and saline, using a culture...

Bacteria (Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp.) and/or the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Rhizophagus intraradices were able to improve growth, physiological and biochemical characteristics of four Sulla carnosa Desf. provenances (Sidi khlif, Thelja, Kalbia and Kerker) from Tunisia under both saline and non-saline conditions. S. carnosa is a salt-t...

Besides their role in nitrogen supply to the host plants as a result of symbiotic N fixation, the association between legumes and Rhizobium could be useful for the rehabilitation of metal-contaminated soils by phytoextraction. A major limitation presents the metal-sensitivity of the bacterial strains. The aim of this work was to explore the usefuln...

The implication of organic acids in Cd and Ni translocation was studied in the halophyte species Sesuvium portulacastrum. Citric, fumaric, malic, and ascorbic acids were separated and quantified by HPLC technique in shoots, roots and xylem saps of plants grown on nutrient solutions added with 50 μM Cd, 100 μM Ni and the combination of 50 μM Cd + 10...

Results showed that leaf methanolic extract of Ononis natrix has important total phenol (51 mg GAE/g DW) and flavonoid (14.76 CE/g DW) contents. The chemical composition of O. natrix leaf revealed the presence of quercitine (24.5%), amentoflavone (14.1%), flavones (11.3%) and kaempferol (10.5%). The leaf extract showed a high total antioxidant acti...

Frankenia thymifolia Desf. is an endemic xero-halophyte species common in the salted and arid region of Tunisia. In this study, two kinds of Frankenia shoot fractions were assessed on their polyphenol contents and biological activities. Then, the main phenolic and fatty acid compositions were identified. Results showed that polar fraction contains...

Some Tunisian salty areas have been explored for halophytes presenting an economical interest. Plants were mainly chosen which could be considered as oilseed species. Three interesting species have been identified as oil producers, called Zygophyllum album, Zygophyllaceae, Cakile maritima, Cruciferous and Crithmum maritimum, Umbelliferous. Oils ext...

Sesuvium portulacastrum, a dicotyledonous halophyte of Aizoaceae family, is a perennial psammophile and potentially useful for the environment protection, e.g. sand dune fixation, desert greenification, landscaping and ornamental uses. This study, which is included in screening programs for cash crop halophytes, was aimed at determining the limits...

Deux halophytes à potentialités fourragères, Suaeda fruticosa et Spartina alterniflora sont cultivées sur eau de mer complète ou diluée à 50 % et plus ou moins enrichie en nutriments minéraux. Les deux espèces expriment une production maximale de biomasse lorsqu'elles sont irriguées avec l'eau de mer diluée deux fois et additionnée d'une solution n...

Suaeda fruticosa is a frequent halophyte in semi-arid, arid and desertic zones of Tunisia. This Chenopodiaceae species is appreciated by livestock: dromedary, goat, and sheep. Its annual biomass production was however, relatively low. Growth and mineral nutrients uptake was studied in high salinity condition (nutritive solution added with different...

The halophyte species studied differ in the levels of adenosine phosphates. When soil is moist, both the levels and energy charge are high. When the soil is dry, pool size decreases sharply (40- 70%) but energy charge remains high. This suggests that the response serves to protect the cell, during a hydric stress, against a sharp decrease of energy...