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365357

Adaptive response of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del to severe aridity in the Western desert of Egypt

Article

Last updated: 01 Jan 2025

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Abstract

Desert date or Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del is one of the most prevalent, wild plant species in the arid regions of Africa and the Middle East. The desert date tolerates a broad range of soil types and can be found in a variety of habitat types. It has a wide ecological distribution but is mainly found on level alluvial sites with deep sandy loam and free access to water. B.egyptiaca is used in African and Indian traditional medicine. Many underutilized tree species are good sources of food, fodder and possible therapeutic agents. B. aegyptiaca tree is considered drought tolerant and a potential source of many secondary metabolites. This study investigated the adaptive and physiological response to severe aridity and drought stress on the growth of B. aegyptiaca in El-Kharga Oasis, which is the driest region in the Western Desert. Clay soil was found to be dominant in the mechanical soil analysis. Weakly to moderately calcareous soil carbonate was found, and the estimated pH values of the soil solution appeared to be slightly alkaline and exhibited a comparatively high electric conductivity. Total free amino acid concentration was greater than that of soluble protein and sugar. Results indicated that B. aegyptiaca is a drought-tolerant plant in severely arid areas that are subject to drought stress.

DOI

10.21608/ejbo.2024.287751.2837

Keywords

Balanites aegyptiaca, drought resistance, Plant-environment relations, Chlorophyll, Carbon and Nitrogen metabolism

Authors

First Name

Fawzy

Last Name

Salama

MiddleName

Mahmoud

Affiliation

Assiut University

Email

fawzysalama2020@yahoo.com

City

Assiut

Orcid

-

First Name

Ali

Last Name

Gaafar

MiddleName

El Saied

Affiliation

Botany Dept., Faculty of Science, New Valley University, El-Kharga,71511- Egypt

Email

aligaafar2006@yahoo.com

City

zagazig

Orcid

0000-0003-1072-702x

First Name

Al-Shimaa

Last Name

Kady

MiddleName

Ahmed

Affiliation

Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, Egypt

Email

alshimaaahmed58@yahoo.com

City

El-Dakhla Oasis

Orcid

-

First Name

Ayat

Last Name

Abd El-Gelil

MiddleName

Abd El-Monem

Affiliation

Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, Egypt

Email

ayatabdelmonembotany@gmail.com

City

Assiut

Orcid

-

Volume

64

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

48675

Issue Date

2024-09-01

Receive Date

2024-05-07

Publish Date

2024-09-01

Page Start

313

Page End

323

Print ISSN

0375-9237

Online ISSN

2357-0350

Link

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/article_365357.html

Detail API

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=365357

Order

23

Type

Regular issue (Original Article)

Type Code

111

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Botany

Publication Link

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Adaptive response of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del to severe aridity in the Western desert of Egypt

Details

Type

Article

Created At

30 Dec 2024