Growth and nutrient uptake of tomato in response to application of saline water,biological fertilizer,and surfactant |
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| Authors: | M R Chaichi R Keshavarz-Afshar B Lu M Rostamza |
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| Institution: | 1. Plant Science Department, College of Agriculture, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, USA;2. Eastern Agricultural Research Center, Montana State University, Moccasin, MT, USA;3. Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture, Qom Agriculture Organization, Qom, Iran;4. Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA |
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| Abstract: | The importance of using low-quality water, such as saline waters, for food production has been increased in the recent decades. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of diluted seawater (electrical conductivity (EC) of 6 dS m?1) on growth and nutrient uptake of tomato. We examined if surfactant (0, 1, 2, 4 mg L?1) and biological fertilizer (compost tea + arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi propagules) have potential to alleviate the adverse effects of salinity on tomato plant. Salinity stress significantly reduced all plant growth parameters. Under salinity stress, nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) contents in tomato shoot were lower, while phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), and calcium (Ca) contents were higher than non-salinized plants; showing ionic imbalance in this condition. Biological fertilizer improved root weight in saline condition. Under salinity stress surfactant application at the rate of 1 mg L?1 helped tomato plants to maintain their ionic balance, especially declining Na uptake, and improved plant growth. |
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| Keywords: | Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi root weight salinity stress seawater |
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