Plants and salinity stress

Project Description 

Some plants, including pistachio trees, can tolerate saline irrigation.  With global climate change more arid and semi-arid regions will develop and high-quality irrigation water will become scarce.  Using saline irrigation water to grow pistachio trees might hence develop into an agricultural water management practice. 

We collaborate with Dr. Gary Baňuelos from the US Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and other scientists at USDA-ARS, Fresno State University, and UC Davies to determine a threshold value of salinity that can be tolerated by pistachios without adverse effects on tree health and nut production (-> salinity research in pistachio). 

Undergraduate students in the Sommerhalter Lab investigate the effect of saline irrigation on the biochemical characteristics of pistachio nuts and leaves with a focus on antioxidants (e.g., phenolic compounds), osmoregulators (e.g., proline and soluble sugars), and photosynthetic pigments. 

The laboratory work involves the preparation of pistachio nut or leaf extracts, colorimetric assays with UltraViolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, and quantification of selected metabolites via High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).