PJB-2017-614
IMPROVEMENT IN SALT TOLERANCE OF TURFGRASS BY COMBINED APPLICATION OF NANO-COMPOST AND MICROBIAL ISOLATES FROM COMPOST
Shulan Zhao
Abstract
Salinity stress is a major factor limiting the growth of turfgrass due to deficient precipitation, improper water management and salts from fertilizers and road deicers. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the roles of nano-sized compost either alone or in combination with salinity tolerant isolates from compost in mitigating the detrimental effects of salinity stress on turfgrass. Municipal solid waste (MSW) compost was processed into nano-sized particles and microorganisms in the compost were screened for salinity stress tolerance using increasing concentrations of NaCl. Tall fescue plants were subjected to nano-compost and microbial isolates under three salinity levels (0.3%, 0.6% and 0.9% of NaCl). Results showed that salinity stress decreased the turfgrass quality, increased the content of malonyldialdehyde (MDA), and enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) with an increasing saline level. In contrast, the application of nano-compost either alone or in combination with microbial inoculum improved turfgrass growth, increased chlorophyll contents, decreased MDA content, further enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes in salt-stressed plants. The results supported the view that nano-sized compost combined with microbial inoculation can contribute to protect turfgrass seedlings against salinity by alleviating the oxidative stress.
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