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Water shortage is a major problem limiting the expansion of green areas and landscapes. Using seawater as an alternative source of potable water is not a novel idea, but the issue of salt stress needs to be resolved. Salinity has a negative impact on growth and the aesthetic value of ornamental plants. In order to overcome these challenges, Lathyrus odoratus seeds were hydro-primed and halo-primed with silicon (Si) and silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs), and exposed to seawater levels. Seawater markedly reduced seed germination and growth of Lathyrus seedlings, but halo-priming was shown to significantly alleviate its negative effects. Broadly, SiNPs increased the germination percentage, reduced photosynthetic pigments and carbohydrates decrease, and enhanced water relations, despite having a negative effect on germination speed. Halo-priming significantly increased the proline content and the activities of certain enzymatic (SOD, APX and CAT) and nonenzymatic (phenolic and flavonoids) compounds, that positively influenced oxidative stress (lower MDA and H2O2 accumulation), resulting in seedlings with more salt stress tolerance. Halo-priming with Si or SiNPs enhanced the Si and K+ contents, and K+/Na+ ratio, associated with a reduction in Na+ accumulation. Generally, halo-priming with Si or SiNPs increased Lathyrus seedlings salt stress tolerance, which was confirmed using seawater treatments via improving germination percentage, seedlings growth and activation of the antioxidant machinery, which detoxifies reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Increased demand for quinoa as a functional food has resulted in more quinoa-growing areas and initiatives to increase grain production, particularly in organic agriculture. Quinoa seeds are a superfood with incredible nutritional benefits. They are abundant in secondary metabolites with significant medicinal activity. This report was consequently performed to investigate whether Azolla fliculoides (AE) or moringa leaf extract (MLE) foliar spray can be supplemented as organic extracts to enhance quinoa growth and productivity under organic farming. Three quinoa cultivars, KVL–SRA2 (C1), Chipaya (C2), and Q–37 (C3), were grown organically and subjected to foliar spraying with AE or MLE at a 20% ratio, as well as their combination (AE+MLE). Plant performance of the three cultivars was significantly enhanced by MLE or AE applications as compared with control plants. The highest outputs were obtained by AE+MLE treatment, which significantly increased the seed yield by about 29% as compared with untreated plants. Seed quality exhibited a marked increase in response to AE+MLE that was superior in this regard as it showed higher protein, carbohydrates, saponine, tannins, phenolics, and flavonoids content. The C3-cultivar demonstrated the highest productivity, saponine, and flavonoids levels as compared to the other cultivars. Overall, the current study indicated that foliar spray with AE+MLE could enhance growth and productivity as well as quality and pharmaceutical active ingredients of quinoa cultivars grown under farming conditions.

A shortages of soil nutrients resources and a lack of accessibility to them especially in calcareous soil are considered some of the main factors that limit plant production. In particular, the cultivation of the Moringa oleifera trees in this type of soil is of special interest given the increasing demand for every part of this tree. Several studies have focused on the production of its leaves as an herbaceous plant and not as a tree, but there has not been extensive research on its pods, seeds, and fixed oil production. In this sense, in this study, we provide an assessment of the use of fertilizers, vermicompost and NPK (as traditional minerals and as nanoparticles), in order to improve pods, seeds, and fixed oil contents, as indicators of the quality of the production of the Moringa oleifera trees in calcareous soil conditions. In this experiment, it was observed that all parameters and the yield of pods, seeds, and fixed oil of the Moringa oleifera tree were significantly improved by increasing the level of vermicompost and using NPK fertilization and combination treatments in both seasons of the study. The combination treatments of 10 and 20 ton ha−1 vermicompost plus NPK control produced the highest percentage of oleic acid with insignificant differences between them.

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