Abstract
Abiotic stresses are important constraints limiting crop productivity worldwide. Salinity is one of the most devastating environmental factors restraining the production of crops. It is urgently needed to search for environmentally safe and sustainable approaches to mitigate the harmful effects of salinity on plants. Hence, applying vermicompost and low-dose aqueous extract of sorghum delivers a pragmatic solution to ameliorate the detrimental outcomes of salinity on maize seedlings (Zea mays L.). The experiment consisted of three factors, each at different levels, i.e., salinity (control, 6, and 12 dS m−1), vermicompost (control, 5, and 10%), and sorghum water extract (control, 1, and 2%). Higher salt stress negatively influenced the morpho-physiological traits of maize. Nonetheless, applying vermicompost and sorghum water extract at 10% and 2%, respectively, increased tolerance against salinity. The application of 2% sorghum water extract and 10% vermicompost significantly improved morphological characteristics, chlorophyll contents, activities of antioxidant enzymes, leaf and root K+/Na+ ratio, and K+ contents. It decreased Na+ concentration, H2O2, and malondialdehyde contents at higher salinity levels. It can be concluded that soil-applied vermicompost and foliar-applied sorghum water extract mitigates the adverse impacts of salinity by activating the antioxidant defense system, improving chlorophyll contents, and reducing the accumulation of Na+ under salinity.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Higher salt stress negatively influenced maize morphophysiological traits.
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Higher salt stress negatively influenced the morpho-physiological traits of maize.”
Claim · model-written summary
Vermicompost at 10% increased maize salinity tolerance.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“applying vermicompost and sorghum water extract at 10% and 2%, respectively, increased tolerance against salinity.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Sorghum water extract at 2% increased maize salinity tolerance.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“applying vermicompost and sorghum water extract at 10% and 2%, respectively, increased tolerance against salinity.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
The combined amendments improved maize morphological characteristics under salinity.
- Treatment
- 2% sorghum water extract and 10% vermicomposte0
- Outcome
- morphological characteristicse0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The application of 2% sorghum water extract and 10% vermicompost significantly improved morphological characteristics, chlorophyll contents, activities of antioxidant enzymes, leaf and root K+/Na+ ratio, and K+ contents.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
The combined amendments improved chlorophyll contents and antioxidant enzyme activities.
- Treatment
- 2% sorghum water extract and 10% vermicomposte0
- Outcome
- chlorophyll contents, activities of antioxidant enzymese0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The application of 2% sorghum water extract and 10% vermicompost significantly improved morphological characteristics, chlorophyll contents, activities of antioxidant enzymes, leaf and root K+/Na+ ratio, and K+ contents.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
The combined amendments improved leaf and root K+/Na+ ratio and K+ contents.
- Treatment
- 2% sorghum water extract and 10% vermicomposte0
- Outcome
- leaf and root K+/Na+ ratio, and K+ contentse0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The application of 2% sorghum water extract and 10% vermicompost significantly improved morphological characteristics, chlorophyll contents, activities of antioxidant enzymes, leaf and root K+/Na+ ratio, and K+ contents.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
The combined amendments decreased Na+ concentration, H2O2 and malondialdehyde contents at higher salinity.
- Outcome
- Na+ concentration, H2O2, and malondialdehyde contentse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Qualifier
- higher salinity levelse0
Not reportedTreatmentComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“It decreased Na+ concentration, H2O2, and malondialdehyde contents at higher salinity levels.”
t0“Maize”
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