Mitigation of salinity stress effects on growth, yield and nutrient uptake of wheat by application of organic extracts.

The reduction of the plant performance was observed in plant growth and yield with reduction in the plant's production of at least 20% of irrigated land worldwide due to the salinity, so it is the major abiotic stresses. For promoting growth and increasing crop yield natural extracts were used in agriculture and horticulture as bio-stimulants. At the Experimental Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture Zagazig University, a pot experiment has been done under greenhouse condition for studying the spray of natural extracts; moringa leaves extract (MLE); algae extract (AE); licorice root extract (LRE) and propolis extract (PE) on yield, photosynthetic pigments and nutrient uptake of wheat grown on saline soil taken from Abou Hammad county, El-Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. Results showed that spraying with different organic extracts significantly increased yield, protein content, photosynthetic pigments and nutrient uptake as compared to untreated plants. Spraying with MLE gave an increase of all parameters i.e., yield, protein content, NPK, Fe, Zn, and Mn accumulation of wheat plants. The highest increases in grain yield were 81%, 110%, 78% and 50%, caused by MLE, AE, LRE and PE, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]