Plant and soil microbial community responses to different water management strategies in an almond crop

Climate change is one of the main challenges facing agricultural sector as it strives to meet global food needs. In arid and semiarid areas, scarcity water imposes use alternative sources - such reclaimed (RW) or desalinated (DW) deficit irrigation strategies, regulated (RDI), in order maintain productivity. The impact both RDI strategies on soil microbial communities conjunction with crop response has been little studied, far less fruit trees. Here, we evaluated effects quantity (RDI optimal amount) quality (DW saline RW) on: i) biomass, composition, activity community, ii) plant agro-physiological at level status, nutrients, vegetative growth, yield almond DW-RDI treatment had a lower growth than rest, reducing nutrient requirements increasing contents organic carbon nitrogen soil. This coincided significant increase bacterial biomass enzyme activities soil, well decrease efficiencies yield. Irrigation RW increased fungal biomass. When there were no restrictions (RW-FI), none parameters affected; when was applied (RW-RDI), highest sodicity reached negatively affected, although did not much DW-RDI. addition, correlated activities. These results improve our knowledge functioning plant-soil interactions Mediterranean crops subjected different strategies.