Abstract

Vegetable plants are more sensitive to salt stress during the early growth stages; hence, the availability of poor-quality brackish water can be a big issue for the nursery vegetable industry. Microbial biostimulants promote growth and vigor and counterbalance salt stress in mature plants. This study aimed to evaluate the application of plant growth-promoting microorganisms for improving salt tolerance of lettuce and tomato seedlings irrigated with different water salinity levels (0, 25, and 50 mM NaCl) during nursery growth. Two commercial microbial biostimulants were applied to the substrate before seeding: 1.5 g L−1 of TNC BactorrS13 containing 1.3 × 108 CFU g−1 of Bacillus spp.; 0.75 g L−1 of Flortis Micorrize containing 30% of Glomus spp., 1.24 × 108 CFU g−1 of Agrobacterium radiobacter, Bacillus subtilis, Streptomyces spp. and 3 × 105 CFU g−1 of Thricoderma spp. Many morpho-physiological parameters of lettuce and tomato seedlings suffered the negative effect of salinity. The use of the microbial biostimulants modified seedling growth and its response to salt stress. They had a growth-promoting effect on the unstressed seedlings increasing fresh and dry biomass accumulation, leaf number, and leaf area and were successful in increasing salinity tolerance of seedlings especially when using Flortis Micorizze that enhanced salinity tolerance up to 50 mM NaCl. The inoculation of the substrate with microbial biostimulants could represent a sustainable way to improve lettuce and tomato transplant quality and to use brackish water in vegetable nurseries limiting its negative effect on seedling growth.

Highlights

  • Salinity, among the abiotic stresses, invariably has the worst impact in reducing the area of cultivated land and limiting agricultural activity

  • The treatment with B and M delayed the beginning of salt stress symptoms and limited growth reduction of tomato seedlings grown at the intermediate salinity level (25 mM NaCl)

  • Nursery transplant production of lettuce and tomato seedlings was affected by the salinity of irrigation water that negatively influenced biomass accumulation, leaf number, leaf area, and seedling quality

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Summary

Introduction

Among the abiotic stresses, invariably has the worst impact in reducing the area of cultivated land and limiting agricultural activity. Salt stress reduces plant growth due to increasing soil osmotic pressure [2], specific-ion toxicities, and nutritional imbalances [3] or a combination of these factors [4]. These effects can determine severe growth and productivity reductions in most vegetable crops. Plant sensitivity to salt stress is generally higher at earlier growth stages (seedling, transplant establishment) than at later stages [6]. The negative effects of irrigation water salinity on seedling growth can make it hard for the vegetable nursery to reach these goals. The availability of poor-quality water due to high salt content occurs more and more frequently in many Mediterranean regions (especially those close to the sea) where vegetable crops are more widespread, as the intensive draw of irrigation water increases seawater infiltration in groundwater [12]

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