Salvadora persica, a potential species for industrial oil production in semiarid saline and alkali soils

Salinity and alkalinity are the two most important factors limiting agricultural productivity in arid and semiarid regions. Reclaiming these lands for commercial crops is too costly for most countries to afford. Faced with a declining base of arable farmland and increasing demand for food, fiber and energy, this warrants the need for utilization of naturally salt tolerant species (halophytes) in irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture. Salvadora persica, a facultative halophyte appears to be a potentially valuable oilseed crop for saline and alkali soils, since the seed contains 40–45% of oil rich in industrially important lauric (C₁₂) and myrestic (C₁₄) acids. Attempts were made to assess the performance of the species on saline and alkali soils. From the results it was evident that the species can be grown on both soil types, however height, spread and seed yield were significantly higher for plants grown on saline soils as compared to plants cultivated on alkali soils. No significant difference was observed in oil content between seed obtained from plants grown on saline and alkali soils. The study indicated that S. persica can be cultivated as a source of industrial oil on both saline and alkali soils for economic and ecological benefits, otherwise not suitable for conventional arable farming.