Effects of Sea Salt on Plant Growth and Moisture : A Case Study on Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sea salt on the growth and moisture content of sweet basil, soil moisture content, and salt stress. As a research method, sweet basil was treated with sea salt at 0, 5, 50, 100, and 200 mM concentration of sea salt was investigated to determine the growth and stress time of sweet basil. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the leaf width increased by 11% when treated with 5 mM, 49% when treated with 50 mM, and 44% when treated with 100 mM. Leaf length was confirmed to grow by 16% at 5 mM, 59% at 50 mM, and 82% at 100 mM treatment. As a future study, based on the effect of sea salt on the leaf and length growth of sweet basil by concentration, it was considered that more research is needed on the beneficial effects of sea salt on edible, medicinal, and aromatic plants. In addition, although salt has only been studied on stress in crops, we intend to contribute to providing basic data for research on ingredients more beneficial to the environment by finding various edible, medicinal, and aromatic plants using the sun-dried salt used in this study.