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Terfezia Cultivation in Arid and Semiarid Soils

2012; Springer Nature; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-642-33823-6_14

2196-4831

Asunción Morte, Alberto Andrino, M. Honrubia, Alfonso Navarro‐Ródenas,

Biocrusts and Microbial Ecology

Since the first plantation of Terfezia mycorrhizal plants was established in 1999 in Murcia (Spain), an increasing demand for this crop, not only in Spain but also in other countries, has prompted research into new strategies and aspects that will enable us to pass from the experimental scale to medium- to large-scale cultivation. As a consequence of this leap, a new photoautotrophic Helianthemum micropropagation system has been developed. This system reduces the time needed to obtain mycorrhizal plants to 3 months since fungal inoculation is carried out at the moment plants are transferred from in vitro to ex vitro conditions, so that plant acclimatization and mycorrhization occur at the same time. Among the factors that most influence desert truffle production are water availability (irrigation), weed management, planting season, soil characteristics, and the frame of plantation. Special attention is focused on the water availability factor in this chapter. We found a statistical correlation between rainfall during the autumn of one year and Terfezia claveryi truffle production the following year. This new and important finding will help prevent reduced desert truffle production after dry years by enabling us to adjust soil water potential to the plant physiological parameters necessary to keep the mycorrhizal symbiosis productive. Physiological and molecular studies on T. claveryi mycelium and its symbiosis with Helianthemum almeriense have been carried out, and an aquaporin gene from T. claveryi (TcAQP1) that increases both water and CO2 conductivity in biological membranes has been cloned. This aquaporin gene has a role in improving the drought-stress tolerance of the mycelium. TcAQP1 expression was seen to be regulated to some extent during root colonization by the mycelium, which demonstrates the importance of this membrane channel in mycorrhizal symbiosis and in mycelium organization for ascoma formation. Finally, particular management practices are recommended for maximizing desert truffle production in an orchard.