AimsWater deficit affect agricultural systems negatively globally. This research objective was to mitigate drought detrimental effects on Licorice growth, utilizing biofertilizer and mineral nutrition. Exogenous application of silicon (Si) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may help licorice plant cope with drought stress. MethodsAn experiment was designed with two Si solute levels in irrigation water (i.e. 0 (Si0) and 300 mg/L (Si1)), two levels of AMF inoculation (i.e. inoculation with Claroiedoglomus etunicatum (F1) and without inoculation (F0)), and five soil moisture regimes (i.e. 100, 80, 60, 40 and 20% of field capacity (FC). The impacts of Si and AMF were assessed on licorice yield, mineral uptake, antioxidant potential, and secondary metabolites under water-deficit stress. After two months, the plants were harvested and their morphological traits were measured. Root extracts were utilized for secondary metabolites and nutrient determination. ResultsUnder water deficit conditions, there were significant decreases in root length, diameter, and dry weight (DW) (p<0.05), compared to the control. Si and AMF could significantly (p<0.05) enhance root area (47.75-150.64 cm2) under all irrigation levels. Also, Si significantly (p<0.05) increased the level of root colonization in licorice. The maximum glycyrrhizic acid (GA) (26.62 mg/g DW) was achieved by the interaction between Si and AMF in response to 40% FC. A reduction in total flavonoids and phenolics of licorice was observed under severe drought levels; however, the Si and AMF acted to increase sinapic acid (16.46 mg/g DW), and trans ferulic acid (1.11 mg/g DW) in roots. The results indicated that the interaction between Si and AMF positively affected nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) concentrations in roots (53.51 and 74.07 %, respectively). At low irrigation levels, the concentrations of P and Si elements increased significantly in the roots. Also, there was an increase in potassium concentration (K) in response to 100, 80, and 40% FC among Si-treated plants (38.5-44.7%). ConclusionsThe exogenous application of Si and AMF showed a synergistic impact on the ability to mitigate the adverse effects of drought stress by improving plant growth and enhancing metabolite accumulation in licorice. These findings bring prospective insight into world water deficit crisis conquering.