UTILIZATION OF SEAWEED IN SOIL FERTILIZATION-SALT TOLERANCE

Salinity affects crop production worldwide. Ascophyllum nodosum, brown seaweed, has been used for centuries as a bio-fertilizer and/or bio- stimulant to promote plant growth and improve plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms of its bio-stimulatory activity are not well understood.

In this experiment, we investigated the effect of A. nodosum in alleviating the effects of salinity on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants grown at 0-200 mM NaCl.

Results showed that A. nodosum promoted tomato plant growth under saline conditions due to the maintenance of the Na+/K+ balance. Its extract also interfered with Zn+ leaf concentration.