The effects of water hyacinth pretreated digestate on Lupinus termis L. seedlings under salinity stress: a complementary study

In this study, the effects of pretreated water hyacinth mixed with cow dung (WH/CD) compost on Lupinus termis seedlings under salinity stress (150 mM NaCl) were investigated. Results showed that WH/CD compost amendment had positive effects on the growth and physiological criteria of L. termis. The application of compost led to a significant increase in the root depth, shoot height, leaf area and fresh/dry weight of roots and shoots of seedlings under salinity. It also led to a significant increase in Chl. a, Chl. b and carotenoids to 53.3, 72.1 and 81.3%, respectively over that when under salinity stress. However, this compost led to a significant reduction in catalase activity (75.5%), peroxidase activity (69.2%), ascorbic content (32.4%) and malondialdehyde content (51.6%) over stressed plants. On the other hand, the compost improved the leaf ultrastructure of L. termis as proven by TEM micrographs, showing normal intercellular spaces, normal nuclei with well-defined and evenly distributed chromatin threads, the chloroplast appeared uniform with well-organized grana and clear starch grains comparable with those in the plants under salinity stress. Our results thus demonstrate that the WH/CD compost could be effectively used to alleviate the salinity stress, as well as enhance the growth of L. termis.Graphical abstract
Source: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research