Capparis spinosa L. Cenopopulation and Biogeochemistry in South Uzbekistan

Plants (Basel). 2022 Jun 21;11(13):1628. doi: 10.3390/plants11131628.

Abstract

The article provides an analysis of the cenopopulation and tissues element composition of the medicinal caper plant Capparis spinosa L. distributed on Calcisols formed on eroded alluvial-proluvial gravel textured rocks in the south of the Fergana Valley (Uzbekistan, Central Asia). The predominance of immature plants in the cenopopulation was detected in the Arsif hills massive, and quantitative indicators of micronutrients in the vegetative and generative organs of C. spinosa L. were determined. The study of biomorphological characteristics of the plant during the growing season (April-October) was carried out in the identified 10 observational experimental field populations. The cenopopulation dynamics and plant development patterns of Capparis spinosa L. were characterized for environmental conditions of south Uzbekistan for the first time. Soil, plant element analysis was performed by neutron-activation method. In this case, the samples were irradiated in a nuclear reactor with a neutron flux of 5 × 1013 neutrons/cm2 s, and their quantities were determined in accordance with the half-life of chemical elements. It has also been compared with research materials conducted by world scientists on the importance and pharmacological properties of botanicals in medicine and the food industry, as well as their botanical characteristics. The plant can serve to conserve soil resources, as it prevents water and wind erosion of dense clay soils in the dry subtropical climate of Central Fergana and could be considered an effective agent of destroyed soils remediation. The development of this plant will contribute to the diversification of agriculture in Uzbekistan (Central Asia) and the development of the food industry and pharmacology.

Keywords: Calcisols; Capparis spinosa L.; cenopopulation analysis; grass; medicinal plants; stages of plant development; trace elements.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by international project “Development of theoretical and practical basics of soil and plant geochemistry in Fergana Valley” in 2013–2018 yy. This work was also supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation in accordance with agreement No. 075-15-2022-322 date 22 April 2022 on providing a grant in the form of subsidies from the Federal budget of Russian Federation. The grant was provided for state support for the creation and development of a World-class Scientific Center “Agrotechnologies for the Future”.