11 / 64
10
Title
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NUTRIENT UPTAKE BETWEEN SORGHUM X DRUMMONDII AND
CYPERUS CONGLOMERATUS, A DESERT SEDGE NATIVE TO THE UAE
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Elke Gabriel Neumann
Defense Date
26 September 2016
Abstract
Sudan grass (Sorghum x drummondii) is commonly grown for the production of animal fodder in the
UAE. Thenda (Cyperus conglomeratus) is a sedge native to the UAE, and one of very few plant species
that colonize soils of shifting desert dunes. As for the grand majority of other land plants, the roots of
Sudan grass associate with symbiotic soil fungi to form endomycorrhizas. These facilitate the uptake of
phosphate and other nutritional elements from the soil. Thenda is a non-host to these root symbionts.
In the desert sedges, rhizosheaths comprising of dense coats of root hairs and entangled soil particles
may constitue an alternative strategy to increase plant nutrient availability. The main goal of the present
study was to find out which of these two different plant species would be more successful in nutrient
uptake from agricultural soils of the UAE. Under filed and greenhouse conditions, Thenda took up larger
amounts of phosphate and micronutrients compared with Sudan grass. When the plants were grown with
roots partially sharing the same soil volume, there was no evidence for competitive interactions in terms
of nutrient acquisition. Possibly this was because Thenda and Sudan grass exploited different pools of
nutritional elements. Under field conditions, Thenda produced greater aboveground biomass compared
with Sudan grass. This suggests that Thenda has a great potential to serve in animal fodder production
or landscaping in arid lands.
Dissertation
SAFAA AHMED HAMDAN
ALGHASYAH ALDHANHAI
Department of Aridl and Agriculture
College of Food and Agriculture