Lahbouki, SoufianeFernando, Ana LuísaRodrigues, CarolinaBen-Laouane, RajaAit-El-Mokhtar, MohamedOutzourhit, AbdelkaderMeddich, Abdelilah2024-02-152024-02-152023-12-142223-7747PURE: 82717746PURE UUID: e4080be0-a3d1-440a-b0dc-62e6f7947d3cScopus: 85180721406WOS: 001130598900001PubMed: 38140483PubMedCentral: PMC10747967ORCID: /0000-0001-9270-3982/work/153199219http://hdl.handle.net/10362/163545This work was supported by the “Introducing cactus plantations (Opuntia spp.) and smart water management systems in marginal lands of Egypt and Morocco to drive rural renaissance in the Mediterranean Region” project (ID: ERANETMED3-204). This research was also supported by the FCT, Foundation for Science and Technology, through an individual research grant (2020.04441.BD) to Carolina Rodrigues. This work also received funds from FCT/MCTES through project ERANETMED/0001/2017—MediOpuntia (Portugal). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Utilizing water resources rationally has become critical due to the expected increase in water scarcity. Cacti are capable of surviving with minimal water requirements and in poor soils. Despite being highly drought-resistant, cacti still faces limitations in realizing its full potential under drought-stress conditions. To this end, we investigated the interactive effect of humic substances (Hs) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on cactus plants under drought stress. In the study, a cactus pot experiment had three irrigation levels (W1: no irrigation, W2: 15% of field capacity, and W3: 30% of field capacity) and two biostimulants (Hs soil amendment and AMF inoculation), applied alone or combined. The findings show that the W1 and W2 regimes affected cactus performance. However, Hs and/or AMF significantly improved growth. Our results revealed that drought increased the generation of reactive oxygen species. However, Hs and/or AMF application improved nutrient uptake and increased anthocyanin content and free amino acids. Furthermore, the soil’s organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium contents were improved by the application of these biostimulants. Altogether, using Hs alone or in combination with AMF can be an effective and sustainable approach to enhance the tolerance of cactus plants to drought conditions, while also improving the soil quality.191583409engamino acidsarbuscular mycorrhizal fungiascorbic acidcactusdrought stresshumic substancesmineral nutritionEcology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsEcologyPlant ScienceSDG 2 - Zero HungerSDG 6 - Clean Water and SanitationSDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and ProductionSDG 13 - Climate ActionSDG 15 - Life on Landjournal article10.3390/plants12244156https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85180721406