Fungus plus humic acid team up to fight salty soil
Singh SK, Zaidi MZ, Pandey R, Panwar C, Kumar A
Mycorrhizal Networks
If you've ever fought crusty, salt-stressed soil in a raised bed near a road or coastline, this combo of a root fungus and a natural soil amendment offers a real path to healthier plants without synthetic chemicals.
Salty soil is tough on plants because it messes with water uptake, damages cells, and stunts growth. Researchers tested pearl millet (a cereal grain) grown in salty conditions and found that pairing a helpful root fungus called Serendipita indica with humic acid, a natural substance from decomposed organic matter, helped the plants grow bigger roots, keep their cells intact, and turn on genes that manage water and salt. The two treatments worked far better together than either one did alone.
Key Findings
Salinity (100-200 mM NaCl) suppressed growth, photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, and expression of water-transport genes (PgPIP1.1, PgTIP1.1) and salt-tolerance genes (PgSOS1, PgSOS2) in pearl millet
Combined Serendipita indica plus humic acid treatment outperformed either treatment alone across morphological, physiological, biochemical, and cellular measures
Co-application preserved chloroplast ultrastructure and plasma membrane integrity while upregulating genes for water transport and ion homeostasis
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found that combining a beneficial root fungus with humic acid (a natural soil additive) dramatically helps pearl millet survive salty soil, doing better together than either treatment alone by protecting cells and turning on key stress-tolerance genes.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Synergistic regulation of physiological, nutritional, cellular, and molecular responses in Pennisetum glaucum by humic acid and Serendipita indica under salinity stress.
Soil salinity is a major constraint to agricultural productivity, disrupting plant growth through osmotic stress, ion toxicity, oxidative damage, and impaired cellular homeostasis. Sustainable stra...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity and suggested area of domestication for the crop is in the Sahel zone of West Africa.