Abstract
Abstract Soil salinity critically threatens agricultural sustainability, particularly in squash production. This study evaluates integrated soil-plant strategies to mitigate salt stress, applying biochar-modified sulfur (BMS) as a soil amendment and licorice root extract (LRE) as a foliar treatment to enhance soil functionality and plant osmotic resilience. Two field experiments (2023–2024) employed a split-plot in randomized complete block design. Main plots tested BMS at 0 (BMS₀), 5 (BMS₅), and 10 (BMS₁₀) ton ha⁻¹; subplots received foliar LRE at 0% (LRE₀) or 1% (LRE₁). BMS₅ and BMS₁₀ significantly ameliorated key physicochemical constraints of saline soils: reducing bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, electrical conductivity (ECe), and pH, while increasing soil-water retention capacity, soil porosity, available water content, organic matter content, cation exchange capacity and nutrient availability (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) versus BMS₀. Synergistic BMS + LRE₁ treatments enhanced squash growth metrics, photosynthetic pigments, nutritional and water status, membrane integrity, and yield over (BMS₀ + LRE₀). However, leaf proline, phenolics, free amino acids and TSS were significantly reduced, under the same treatments, confirming improved salinity tolerance of squash plants. Combined BMS and LRE application sustainably enhances saline soil properties and fortifies plant biochemical resilience, optimizing squash productivity. This strategy offers a viable pathway for saline soil management in water-scarce agroecosystems.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
BMS treatments reduced saline-soil bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and electrical conductivity versus BMS₀.
Verbatim
e0“BMS₅ and BMS₁₀ significantly ameliorated key physicochemical constraints of saline soils: reducing bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, electrical conductivity (ECe), and pH, while increasing soil-water retention capacity, soil porosity, available water content, organic matter content, cation exchange capacity and nutrient availability (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) versus BMS₀”
e1“squash production”
Claim · model-written summary
BMS treatments reduced saline-soil pH versus BMS₀.
Verbatim
e0“BMS₅ and BMS₁₀ significantly ameliorated key physicochemical constraints of saline soils: reducing bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, electrical conductivity (ECe), and pH, while increasing soil-water retention capacity, soil porosity, available water content, organic matter content, cation exchange capacity and nutrient availability (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) versus BMS₀”
e1“squash production”
Claim · model-written summary
BMS treatments increased saline-soil water retention, porosity, and available water versus BMS₀.
Verbatim
e0“BMS₅ and BMS₁₀ significantly ameliorated key physicochemical constraints of saline soils: reducing bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, electrical conductivity (ECe), and pH, while increasing soil-water retention capacity, soil porosity, available water content, organic matter content, cation exchange capacity and nutrient availability (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) versus BMS₀”
e1“squash production”
Claim · model-written summary
BMS treatments increased saline-soil organic matter, cation exchange capacity, and nutrient availability versus BMS₀.
Verbatim
e0“BMS₅ and BMS₁₀ significantly ameliorated key physicochemical constraints of saline soils: reducing bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, electrical conductivity (ECe), and pH, while increasing soil-water retention capacity, soil porosity, available water content, organic matter content, cation exchange capacity and nutrient availability (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) versus BMS₀”
e1“squash production”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined BMS and LRE₁ enhanced squash growth metrics, pigments, and nutritional status versus untreated plots.
Verbatim
e0“Synergistic BMS + LRE₁ treatments enhanced squash growth metrics, photosynthetic pigments, nutritional and water status, membrane integrity, and yield over (BMS₀ + LRE₀)”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined BMS and LRE₁ enhanced squash membrane integrity and yield versus untreated plots.
Verbatim
e0“Synergistic BMS + LRE₁ treatments enhanced squash growth metrics, photosynthetic pigments, nutritional and water status, membrane integrity, and yield over (BMS₀ + LRE₀)”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined treatments significantly reduced squash leaf proline, phenolics, and free amino acids.
- Taxon
- squashe1
- Treatment
- BMS + LRE₁e1
- Outcome
- leaf proline, phenolics, free amino acidse0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“leaf proline, phenolics, free amino acids and TSS were significantly reduced, under the same treatments”
e1“Synergistic BMS + LRE₁ treatments enhanced squash growth metrics”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined treatments significantly reduced squash leaf TSS.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“leaf proline, phenolics, free amino acids and TSS were significantly reduced, under the same treatments”
e1“Synergistic BMS + LRE₁ treatments enhanced squash growth metrics”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors interpret combined BMS and LRE as improving squash salinity tolerance and productivity.
Verbatim
e0“Combined BMS and LRE application sustainably enhances saline soil properties and fortifies plant biochemical resilience, optimizing squash productivity”
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