Boosting land restoration success in the Great Green Wall through the use of symbiotic microorganisms for propagated tree seedlings

Abstract

Several studies have clearly demonstrated the scientific and practical use of the symbiotics microorganisms for plants in earth ecosystems. The main goal of this study was to rehabilitate a degraded soil of the sahelian zone of Burkina Faso by using the rhizobia and mycorrhizal symbiosis through the inoculation technique. Native rhizobial strains were isolated from soil samples. These strains were then tested in laboratory and greenhouse conditions for their effects on the nodulation and growth of Vachellia seyal. At the end of these tests three promising strains were selected to form a complex that was used with or without arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus for the inoculation of plants produced in nursery or issued from direct seedling at the field. After 3, 12 and 14 months of cultivation, respectively, the growth parameters of plants such as the height and the collar diameter were measured. In addition, the field survival rate of plantations was evaluated. The results showed that inoculation has improved the growth and survival rate of Vachellia seyal plants in the field. The double inoculation was more effective than the single inoculation. With these promising results, we recommend inoculation of seedlings for a better success of restoration plantings in the Sahel.

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Keywords: Symbiosis, native strains, rehabilitate, inoculation, sahelian zone