Intercropping Salt-Sensitive Lactuca sativa L. and Salt-Tolerant Salsola soda L. in a Saline Hydroponic Medium: An Agronomic and Physiological Assessment

Competition for freshwater is increasing, with a growing population and the effects of climate change limiting its availability. In this experiment, Lactuca sativa plants were grown hydroponically with or without a 15% share of seawater (12 dS m(−1)) alone or intercropped with Salsola soda to demonstrate if L. sativa benefits from sodium removal by its halophyte companion. Contrary to the hypothesis, saline-grown L. sativa plants demonstrated reduced growth compared to the control plants regardless of the presence or absence of S. soda. Both limitations in CO(2) supply and photosystem efficiency may have decreased CO(2) assimilation rates and growth in L. sativa plants grown in the seawater-amended solutions. Surprisingly, leaf pigment concentrations increased in salt-treated L. sativa plants, and most notably among those intercropped with S. soda, suggesting that intercropping may have led to shade-induced increases in chlorophyll pigments. Furthermore, increased levels of proline indicate that salt-treated L. sativa plants were experiencing stress. In contrast, S. soda produced greater biomass in saline conditions than in control conditions. The mineral element, carbohydrate, protein, polyphenol and nitrate profiles of both species differed in their response to salinity. In particular, salt-sensitive L. sativa plants had greater accumulations of Fe, Ca, P, total phenolic compounds and nitrates under saline conditions than salt-tolerant S. soda. The obtained results suggest that intercropping salt-sensitive L. sativa with S. soda in a hydroponic system did not ameliorate the growing conditions of the salt-sensitive species as was hypothesized and may have exacerbated the abiotic stress by increasing competition for limited resources such as light. In contrast, the saline medium induced an improvement in the nutritional profile of S. soda. These results demonstrate an upper limit of the seawater share and planting density that can be used in saline agriculture when intercropping S. soda plants with other salt-sensitive crops.