Enhancing Salt Stress Tolerance in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) through Silicon Application in Roots

Abstract

Soil salinization poses a significant threat to agricultural productivity, necessitating innovative agronomic strategies to mitigate its impact. This study focuses on improving salt stress resistance in tomato plants through the application of silicon (Si) in roots. A greenhouse experiment was carried out under normal conditions (control, and 1 and 4 mM Si) and under salinity stress (salt control, and 1 and 4 mM Si). Various parameters were analyzed in leaves and roots. Under normal conditions, tomato plants grown in non-saline conditions exhibited some toxicity when exposed to Na2SiO3. As for the experiments under salt stress conditions, Si mitigated oxidative damage, preserving root cell membrane integrity. The concentration of malondialdehyde was reduced by 69.5%, that of proline was reduced by 56.4% and there was a 57.6% decrease in catalase activity for tomato plants treated with 1 mM Si under salt stress. Furthermore, Fe uptake and distribution, under salt conditions, increased from 91 to 123 mg kg−1, the same concentration as that obtained for the normal control. In all cases, the lower dose produced better results under normal conditions than the 4 mM dose. In summary, this research provides a potential application of Si in non-fertigated crop systems through a radicular pathway.