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Garden-waste-vermicompost leachate alleviates salinity stress in tomato seedlings by mobilizing salt tolerance mechanisms

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Abstract

The incidence of salinity-induced plant stress as a result of natural and anthropogenic factors in arid and semi-arid agricultural lands is great. In South Africa alone, 9 % of irrigated agricultural land is salt-affected. Commercial fertilizers used for improving soil nutrient levels are costly and affect the quality, lifespan and sustainability of soil and water resources. Organic farming practices are based on cost-effective and environmentally-aware management systems. Vermicompost leachate (VCL) is a vermicompost-derived liquid product that has become recognised as a suitable soil amendment product. Commercial tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill var. Heinz-1370) seedlings were subjected to sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations of 0, 25, 50 and 100 mM and were treated with 1:10 (v/v) WizzardWorms VCL prepared in Hoagland’s nutrient solution under greenhouse conditions. Morphological characters of VCL-treated tomato seedlings showed improved root growth and stimulated overall aboveground growth with significantly higher numbers of leaves, greater stem thickness and increased leaf area, even at a high NaCl-tested concentration (100 mM). The accumulation of compatible solutes such as proline and total soluble sugars indicate an induced salt tolerance or adaptive mechanism in VCL-treated tomato seedlings. The current investigation demonstrates the potential of an organic liquid to maximise tomato productivity by improving seedling growth performance under salt stress conditions.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

NaCl:

Sodium chloride

VCL:

Vermicompost leachate

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Acknowledgments

The University of KwaZulu-Natal is thanked for the award of Postdoctoral Fellowships to first two authors. We thank Mr Don Blacklaw of Wizzard Worms, Rietvlei, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, for providing vermicompost leachate analytical data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    Mayashree Chinsamy, Manoj G. Kulkarni & Johannes Van Staden

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  1. Mayashree Chinsamy
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  2. Manoj G. Kulkarni
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  3. Johannes Van Staden
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Correspondence to Johannes Van Staden.

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Chinsamy, M., Kulkarni, M.G. & Van Staden, J. Garden-waste-vermicompost leachate alleviates salinity stress in tomato seedlings by mobilizing salt tolerance mechanisms. Plant Growth Regul 71, 41–47 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-013-9807-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-013-9807-6

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