Biomass Yield Response of Different Medicinal Plants Under Dual Stress of Salinity and Sodicity
Biomass Yield Response of Different Medicinal Plants Under Dual Stress of Salinity and Sodicity
Ghulam Qadir1, Khalil Ahmed1*, Muhammad Ashfaq Anjum1, Quais Muhammad Affan2, Muhammad Zaighum Mushtaq3, Muhammad Amjad Qureshi4, Amar Iqbal Saqib1, Hafeezullah Rafa1, Abdul Wakeel1, Ghulam Shabir1, Muhammad Rizwan1, Muhammad Qaisar Nawaz1 and Muhammad Faisal Nawaz1
ABSTRACT
One of the best strategies for the utilization of salts affected soils is the screening of available local plants which can grow or survive under salt stress and have considerable economic importance to the farming community. Therefore, a three-years pot experiment was executed to explore the salinity tolerance of medicinal plants i.e., Podeena (Mentha spicata), Hina (Lawsonia inermis), Qulfa (portulace oleracea), Methi (Trigonella foenumgraceum), Dill (Anethum graveolens) and Kalwanji (nigella sativa), under dual stress of ECe (electrical conductivity of soil extract) 0.79, 6 and 8 dS m-1 and SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) 5.99, 25 and 35. Each crop was grown for four months and biomass yield data was recorded. Results of three successive seasons suggest that all the evaluated medicinal plants can grow under the medium salinity and sodicity level of (6 dS m-1 + 25 SAR). However, biomass yield decreased linearly with increasing levels of salinity and sodicity and a maximum reduction of 63.25% for Podeena, 48.15% for Hina, 54.74% for Qulfa, 32.87% for Methi, 59.77% for Dill and 45.18% for Kalwanji was recorded at the highest level of salinity + sodicity (ECe 8 dS m-1 + SAR 35).
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