Vermicompost leachate reduces some negative effects of salt stress in pomegranate

Purpose Growth and productivity of plant crops are negativelyaffected by salt stress. Vermicompost leachate(VCL) has beneficial effects on plant growth in severaldifferent ways. This experiment was conducted to investigatethe potential of VCL for raising the tolerance ofpomegranate against salinity.Methods A pot experiment was organized to analyze somephysiological attributes and antioxidant activities of twoIranian pomegranate cultivars under different concentrationsof NaCl with or without VCL.Results Salinity negatively affected the growth propertiesof pomegranate, while foliar spray of VCL-induced salttolerance by reducing the accumulation of Na in theseedlings. Leaf area and shoot and root fresh and dryweight of VCL-treated pomegranate plants showed a significantincrease regardless of whether the seedling growthwas under non-saline or saline conditions. Chlorophyll lossand reduced photosynthesis efficiency caused by salinitywere also ameliorated using VCL. Foliar application ofVCL also improved the activity of antioxidant enzymesand caused a reduction in oxidative stress and electrolyteleakage.Conclusions These results suggested that VCL couldalleviate the damage caused by salt stress in pomegranateby limiting the agglomeration of Na and amending theactivities of antioxidant enzymes by which the efficiency ofplant increases.