Growth and Antioxidant Responses of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) to Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Inoculation and Seaweed Extract Foliar Application

Abstract

Biofertilizers, such as arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) and seaweed extract (SWE), have been effective in environmental and agricultural ecosystems. In this study, the effects of AMF, SWE, and their co-application were assayed on the growth and antioxidant potential of lettuce plants. The experiment was conducted as a factorial based on a completely randomized design with two factors and four replications under greenhouse conditions. The first factor was AMF (Glomus mosseae) at two levels consisting of AMF application (20 g pot−1), and without using AMF; and the second factor was SWE foliar spraying (Ascophyllum nodosum) at 0.5, 1.5 and 3 g L−1 concentration. The results revealed that the highest root colonization (85%) belonged to AMF and SWE (3 g L−1) × AMF; the lowest colonization rate (65%) was observed for AMF × SWE (0.5 g L−1) treatment. The highest growth parameters (leaf number, shoot and root fresh weight, head diameter), biochemical traits (total soluble proteins, carbohydrates content) and TAA, total antioxidant activity by FRAP method and ascorbic acid, total phenolics, and flavonoids content were obtained with the co-applications. Therefore, the best results of the evaluated traits were achieved with AMF × SWE (3 g L−1). The TAA value was increased three-fold compared to the control. Total phenolics and flavonoids content were 2.24 and 6.59 times higher than the control, respectively. On the other hand, leaf dry weight was decreased with the further growth of the plants. Overall, the co-application of AMF with SWE can be recommended to producers as an alternative and environment-friendly strategy to improve the qualitative and quantitative traits of the lettuce crop.

Cleaner production technologies for the amelioration of soil health, biomass and secondary metabolites in Ocimum basilicum L. under Indian Western Himalaya

“…The current investigation demonstrated a synergistic effect of used biostimulants and reported the maximum herb and EO yields were observed when the crop was treated with the congregate application of all three biostimulants ( Figures 6A, B ). These findings are in congruence with some posterior studies demonstrating a synergistic/additive effect of the combined application of a diverse array of biostimulants for augmenting plant growth, production, and even biochemical composition in crops like lettuce ( Rouphael et al., 2017 ; Rasouli et al., 2022 ), green amaranth ( Ngoroyemoto et al., 2020 ), onion ( Gupta et al., 2021a ), and wheat ( Najafi Vafa et al., 2022 ). Moreover, the observed beneficial effects of the combinatory use of biostimulants in the current study might be attributable to the increased photosynthetic pigments, physiological performance, and enhanced N and P contents in the leaves of O. basilicum ( Figures 3A–C ).…”

Effects of brown seaweed extract, silicon, and selenium on fruit quality and yield of tomato under different substrates

“…Also, the increase in TCC might be attributed to the higher availability of macro and micro elements (K, N, Mg, Ca, Zn, and Ni) and better growth of roots by foliar spraying the seaweed extract [ 37 ]. Rasouli et al [ 38 ] reported that the application of seaweed extract increased the photosynthesis rate and chlorophyll index in lettuce plants and, subsequently, caused the accumulation of carbohydrates. On the other hand, our results showed that the application of Si significantly increased the amount of TCC than the control.…”

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Induce Tolerance to Salinity Stress in Taro Plantlets (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) during Acclimatization

“…The accumulation of soluble phenols and antioxidant capacity in plants inoculated with mycorrhizae has been reported in French tamarisk (Tamarix gallica) [55], globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. cv. scolymus Fiori) [56], prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) [57], and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) [58]. Bencherif et al [55] in T. gallica found that when using a consortium (Funnneliformis mosseae, Septoglomus constrictum, Gigaspora gigantea, Glomus sp1., and Glomus sp2.)…”