ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing Plant Resilience and Productivity Through Biostimulants and Advanced Biotechnological ApproachesView all 8 articles
Foliar Application of Halocnemum strobilaceum Improves Chenopodium quinoa Growth and Physiological Traits for Saline Agricultural Residence
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Jeddah College of Science, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 2Alexandria University Faculty of Science, Alexandria, Egypt
- 3King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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Salinity is a major abiotic stress limiting crop productivity, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. This study assessed the effectiveness of Halocnemum strobilaceum extract (HE) as a foliar biostimulant to improve growth, yield, and physiological performance of Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa) under NaCl-induced salinity stress (0–150 mM). Elevated salinity significantly reduced root length (- 17.4%), leaf area (- 44.3%), and seed weight (- 26.4%). HE application mitigated these effects, enhancing leaf area (+8.6%) and the weight of 1000 seeds (+33.9%) under moderate to high salinity. Physiological analysis revealed that HE increased photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fo) with improvements of 44.3% at 100 mM and 12.4% at 150 mM NaCl., reduced oxidative damage by lowering H2O2 (up to −32.7%) and malondialdehyde (−39.2%) levels, and increased protein (+25.4%) and lipid content (+24.2% under 0 and by 16.5% under 50 mM NaCl). SDS-PAGE revealed salinity-induced changes in quinoa seed proteins, with loss of specific bands and appearance of two novel bands (43, 30 kDa) in the protein profile of HE-treated salinized quinoa plants under 150 mM NaCl. HE enhances salinity stress tolerance by promoting osmotic adjustment, maintaining membrane integrity, and enhancing antioxidant defenses. The SDS-PAGE results suggest de novo synthesis of stress-related proteins, highlighting HE's role in modulating quinoa's proteomic response under high salinity.
Keywords: sustainable agriculture, Halocnemum strobilaceum, Arid land, biostimulant, Eco-friendlysalinity management, NaCl-induced abiotic stress, Foliar application under salinity, Salt stressmitigation in crops
Received: 18 Aug 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Aljeddani, Fakhry, Almoshadak and Toto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Amal M. Fakhry, amal.fakhry@alexu.edu.eg
Soliman Mohammed Toto, smt_toto@alexu.edu.eg
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