Abstract:
The use of large amounts of synthetic chemicals in plant cultivation harms the environment and reduces food quality. Therefore, natural alternatives should be used to protect the environment, increase food quality, and decrease food contamination. The Moringa oleifera tree is cultivated for its leaves and seeds which are used as a fresh vegetable, green manure, plant biostimulant, and biopesticide. Plant growth regulator (PGR) is a substance that regulates or modifies the physiological processes of plants, impacting their growth, development, or maturation. These can be natural plant hormones (phytohormones) or synthetic compounds. Therefore, the present research aimed to investigate the effect of moringa leaf extract (MLE) and seaweed extract (SWE) a PGR as biostimulators to enhance growth of maize grown in a pot culture under normal and salt-affected soils during 2025. To examine the effects of MLE and SWE, the present study included MLE at 4% and SWE at 4% alone as well as in combination with control. The pot experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with three replications of each applied treatment. Data was collected on various growth parameters (such as: shoot and root lengths, shoot and root fresh and dry weights as root to shoot ratio), physiological responses (like relative water contents, membrane stability index, chlorophyll contents, photosynthetic and transpiration rates as well as stomatal conductance), biochemical functions (i.e., water soluble carbohydrates, total and crude proteins, fat, organic acids; as well as enzymatic antioxidants including ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, dehydroascorbate reductases, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase; and non-enzymatic molecules including ascorbate, glutathione, phenolics) and ionic/nutrients concentration (e.g., sodium, chloride, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). All the obtained data were analyzed statistically using the Analysis of Variance following Statistix 10 statistical package and difference among the treatment means were compared by the least significant difference test at 0.05 probability. The results revealed that combined treatment of 4% MLE and 4% SWE proved most effective for enhancing maize growth and physiological performance both under normal and salt-affected soils.
Page(s):
140-141
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: 1st International Conference on "Recent Advances in Green Biotechnology and Climate Resilience", September 15-16, 2025, Volume: 1, Issue: 1, Year: 2025