The intercropping of different varieties of tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum L.) with maize (Zea mays L.) and its role in tolerance to drought and salinity

¹ Laboratory OLMAN-BPGE, Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador, Mohamed First University – Oujda, 62700 Nador, Morocco
² Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, Ecology and Ecosystem Valorization, URL CNRST10, Faculty of Sciences, University Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco
³ Institute for Plant Molecular and Cell Biology, CSIC, Valencia, Spain

^* Corresponding author: rana.choukri@gmail.com

Abstract

Climate change will lead to an increase in the frequency and severity of abiotic stresses, such as drought and salinity, transforming them into major factors of food insecurity. This is of particular concern in arid and semi-arid regions, where soil salinity and water scarcity represent a significant threat to agriculture. This is why exploring agricultural techniques to improve production is essential. Intercropping, a method that has demonstrated its effectiveness against a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses, is of particular interest. In this study, we examined the impact of intercropping three tomato varieties (Jade, Blancato, and Karima) with maize on the resistance of these plants to water and salt stresses. Plant growth parameters such as yield and plant biomass, as well as biochemical parameters such as pH, total proteins, chlorophyll, and water content, were evaluated in these tomato varieties. The results indicate that intercropping had a positive effect on tolerance to abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity by improving physiological and biochemical parameters studied here specially in terms of yield (in terms of yield V. Karima showed the most important results). This paves the way for further research, particularly by geneticists and agronomists seeking to develop varieties adapted to intercropping to ensure the sustainability of this technique.