Enhancing Soybean Productivity in Saline Soil Conditions: Synergistic Effects of Organic Fertilizer and Proline Co-Application

Abstract

FFICIENTLY optimizing strategic crop production in Egypt's degraded soils is imperative to address the nutritional gap and ensure food security. Consequently, a field trial was conducted over two consecutive summer seasons (2022 and 2023) to evaluate the potential impact of various organic fertilization sources as the main plots on soybean plant cultivated in soil with an EC value of 6.45 dsm -1 . The organic treatments included a control group without organic fertilizers (I 0 ), farmyard manure (FYM) compost (I 1 ), plant residues (PR) compost (I 2 ) and chicken manure (ChM) compost (I 3 ). Additionally, the subplots were designated for foliar applications of proline amino acid, with three groups: F 0 (without foliar application, serving as the control), F 1 (proline at a rate of 60 mg L -1 ), and F 2 (proline at a rate of 100 mg L - 1). The study assessed various parameters at two stages: 80 days from sowing, focusing on growth indicators such as plant height, foliage fresh and dry leaf weights, and chlorophyll content and antioxidant indicators. At the harvest stage, yield-related parameters and quality aspects like the number of pods per plant, seed yield, oil, protein, carbohydrates, along with the analysis of soil nutrient availability. The results obtained illustrated that ChM compost (I 3 ) proved to be the most effective organic source in promoting optimal performance under salinity conditions, as evidenced by superior growth indicators, yield-related parameters, and quality. Following closely was PR compost (I 2 ), with FYM compost (I 1 ) ranking third, while the control group (without organic fertilizers) exhibited the lowest performance. In addition, the findings highlight the positive impact of proline amino acid on enhancing plant tolerance to salinity stress, with performance improvements correlating with increased proline levels. The sequence of proline treatments, ranked from most effective to least, was F 2 , followed by F 1 , then F 0 (without proline). Analyzing soil fertility at the harvest stage, all organic sources positively influenced the availability of N, P, and K, with ChM compost (I 3 ) demonstrating superior effects. The influence of proline was nearly negligible in this aspect. Overall, the combined treatment of I 3 x F 2 emerged as the most distinguished among the various interactions studied. Therefore, integrated approaches that combine optimal organic fertilization practices with proline applications, such as the studied combination of ChM compost and proline, should be promoted for enhanced soybean production. Ongoing research is essential to refine and expand these recommended practices for a comprehensive and sustainable approach to soybean cultivation in challenging soil conditions.

Nano-NPK and Nano-Sulfur Boost Vegetative Growth and Chemical Constituents of African Mahogany (Khaya senegalensis L.) Seedlings under Saline Soil Conditions

“…Applied nanofertilizers can mediate plant tolerance and mitigation of salinity through many mechanisms including enhancing plant retaining of K + and eliminating Na + , maintaining reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis, increasing nitric oxide production, and lowering lipoxygenase activities (Singh et al 2023a). Many approaches have been applied to ameliorate salinity including nanomaterials such as nanofertilizers (Ibrahim and Hegab 2022;Singh et al 2024a), nano-biochar (Rasheed et al 2024), nano-amendments like sulfur (EL-Madah et al 2024), organic fertilizers (Elshaboury et al 2024), biostimulants (AbdEL-Azeiz and Faiyad 2024), and nano-priming of seeds (Zhao et al 2024). Therefore, this investigation aimed to evaluate the effect of foliar application of nano-NPK and nano sulfur using different doses on the growth, and chemical constituents of Khaya senegalensis Desr A. Juss during the seedling growing stage.…”