Impact of irrigation water deficit on two tomato genotypes grown under open field conditions: From the root-associated microbiota to the stress responses

Abstract

In the context of the climate change scenario in the Mediterranean, natural root-microorganism associations have an impact on the resilience and productivity of crops, and the exploitation of these interactions represents innovative, cost-effec-tive and sustainable crop adaptation strategies. An open field experiment with two commercial Italian tomato cultivars was per-formed. The soil bacterial communities associated with the two commercial Italian tomato genotypes were characterized along-side their physiological and molecular responses under well-watered and moderate water deficit (100% and 75% of crop evap-otranspiration) treatments. The two genotypes showed contrasting responses to water deficit, primarily through diverse rhizosphere microbiota recruitment under the two irrigation treatments.