Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress and Biostimulant Action in Tomato Plants Grown in Two Different Soil Types
Soil salinity is one of the major causes of losses in agricultural production, which is accentuated by global warming. A sustainable strategy to mitigate the effects of the increasing soil salinisation is the use of biostimulants. In this study, the effect of a plant-based biostimulant was tested on...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/9/11/1209 |
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| author | Javier Zuzunaga-Rosas Dennys Silva-Valdiviezo Roberta Calone Ioan Lupuţ Sara Ibáñez-Asensio Monica Boscaiu Héctor Moreno-Ramón Oscar Vicente |
| author_facet | Javier Zuzunaga-Rosas Dennys Silva-Valdiviezo Roberta Calone Ioan Lupuţ Sara Ibáñez-Asensio Monica Boscaiu Héctor Moreno-Ramón Oscar Vicente |
| author_sort | Javier Zuzunaga-Rosas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil salinity is one of the major causes of losses in agricultural production, which is accentuated by global warming. A sustainable strategy to mitigate the effects of the increasing soil salinisation is the use of biostimulants. In this study, the effect of a plant-based biostimulant was tested on tomato plants exposed to different salinity levels in loamy and sandy soils. Salinity in the soils reached a maximum value of 14.35 dS m<sup>−1</sup>. The treatments included a control (tap water) and a dose of 0.4 mL L<sup>−1</sup> of the commercial biostimulant BALOX<sup>®</sup>, containing polyphenols and glycine betaine. After 60 days of treatment, several growth and biochemical parameters were evaluated in the plants, and different responses were found depending on the type of soil texture. Salt stress inhibited plant growth, mainly affecting the roots of plants not treated with the biostimulant, in both soil texture types. It also caused a reduction of total chlorophyll and carotenoid levels by 44% and 38%, respectively, under severe salinity conditions. High salinity induced a significant increase in ionic, osmotic and oxidative stress in plants, as indicated by the accumulation of toxic Na<sup>+</sup> and Cl<sup>−</sup> ions, higher proline and MDA levels, and increased antioxidant enzyme activities. However, the application of BALOX<sup>®</sup> stimulated plant growth and root system development in all experimental conditions. The areas of roots and leaves and the stem length and diameter showed higher mean values in biostimulant-treated plants on both soil types, with more pronounced differences with the controls in sandy soils. The total fresh weight showed maximum increases of 54% and 93% on loamy and sandy soils, respectively. In addition, BALOX<sup>®</sup> significantly improved the active transport of nutrients such as K<sup>+</sup> and Ca<sup>2+</sup>, and the concentration of photosynthetic pigments by up to 64% over control values; it also allowed greater protection against salt stress as shown by a significant reduction of proline levels, by up to 36%, and MDA by 51% under strongly saline conditions. The application of BALOX<sup>®</sup> generally decreased the level of stress in the tomato plants, promoting plant growth and enhancing their biochemical responses, even on strongly salinised soils. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:46:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-20a961bd9072433ea405ca2e8341fefd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:46:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj.art-20a961bd9072433ea405ca2e8341fefd2023-11-24T14:45:15ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242023-11-01911120910.3390/horticulturae9111209Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress and Biostimulant Action in Tomato Plants Grown in Two Different Soil TypesJavier Zuzunaga-Rosas0Dennys Silva-Valdiviezo1Roberta Calone2Ioan Lupuţ3Sara Ibáñez-Asensio4Monica Boscaiu5Héctor Moreno-Ramón6Oscar Vicente7Department of Plant Production, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, SpainDepartment of the Soil, Faculty of Agronomy, Universidad Nacional de Piura, Campus Universitario s/n Miraflores, Piura 20002, PeruCREA—Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, 40128 Bologna, 00184 Rome, ItalyFaculty of Forestry and Cadastre, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3–5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Plant Production, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, SpainMediterranean Agroforestry Institute (IAM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Plant Production, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, SpainInstitute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, SpainSoil salinity is one of the major causes of losses in agricultural production, which is accentuated by global warming. A sustainable strategy to mitigate the effects of the increasing soil salinisation is the use of biostimulants. In this study, the effect of a plant-based biostimulant was tested on tomato plants exposed to different salinity levels in loamy and sandy soils. Salinity in the soils reached a maximum value of 14.35 dS m<sup>−1</sup>. The treatments included a control (tap water) and a dose of 0.4 mL L<sup>−1</sup> of the commercial biostimulant BALOX<sup>®</sup>, containing polyphenols and glycine betaine. After 60 days of treatment, several growth and biochemical parameters were evaluated in the plants, and different responses were found depending on the type of soil texture. Salt stress inhibited plant growth, mainly affecting the roots of plants not treated with the biostimulant, in both soil texture types. It also caused a reduction of total chlorophyll and carotenoid levels by 44% and 38%, respectively, under severe salinity conditions. High salinity induced a significant increase in ionic, osmotic and oxidative stress in plants, as indicated by the accumulation of toxic Na<sup>+</sup> and Cl<sup>−</sup> ions, higher proline and MDA levels, and increased antioxidant enzyme activities. However, the application of BALOX<sup>®</sup> stimulated plant growth and root system development in all experimental conditions. The areas of roots and leaves and the stem length and diameter showed higher mean values in biostimulant-treated plants on both soil types, with more pronounced differences with the controls in sandy soils. The total fresh weight showed maximum increases of 54% and 93% on loamy and sandy soils, respectively. In addition, BALOX<sup>®</sup> significantly improved the active transport of nutrients such as K<sup>+</sup> and Ca<sup>2+</sup>, and the concentration of photosynthetic pigments by up to 64% over control values; it also allowed greater protection against salt stress as shown by a significant reduction of proline levels, by up to 36%, and MDA by 51% under strongly saline conditions. The application of BALOX<sup>®</sup> generally decreased the level of stress in the tomato plants, promoting plant growth and enhancing their biochemical responses, even on strongly salinised soils.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/9/11/1209salinity toleranceclimate changesalt stresshorticultural plantsbiochemical responsestress markers |
| spellingShingle | Javier Zuzunaga-Rosas Dennys Silva-Valdiviezo Roberta Calone Ioan Lupuţ Sara Ibáñez-Asensio Monica Boscaiu Héctor Moreno-Ramón Oscar Vicente Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress and Biostimulant Action in Tomato Plants Grown in Two Different Soil Types Horticulturae salinity tolerance climate change salt stress horticultural plants biochemical response stress markers |
| title | Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress and Biostimulant Action in Tomato Plants Grown in Two Different Soil Types |
| title_full | Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress and Biostimulant Action in Tomato Plants Grown in Two Different Soil Types |
| title_fullStr | Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress and Biostimulant Action in Tomato Plants Grown in Two Different Soil Types |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress and Biostimulant Action in Tomato Plants Grown in Two Different Soil Types |
| title_short | Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress and Biostimulant Action in Tomato Plants Grown in Two Different Soil Types |
| title_sort | biochemical responses to salt stress and biostimulant action in tomato plants grown in two different soil types |
| topic | salinity tolerance climate change salt stress horticultural plants biochemical response stress markers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/9/11/1209 |
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