ENHANCING SPINACH (SPINACIA OLERACEA L.) SEED GERMINATION, LEAF BIOMASS PRODUCTION UNDER SALINE WATER STRESS: THE IMPLICATIONS OF ZINC AND COW MANURE

Abstract

Plant growth and productivity is restricted due to significant influence of salt stress on the essential physiological processes. Zinc supplementation holds promise as a technique to improve the resilience under salt stress. An open field experiment was conducted to assess the leaf growth parameters of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) including seed germination, plant area, leaf area, length, width, leaf fresh weight as well as dry weight, and Number of leaves per plant. Spinach plants were irrigated with a defined electrical conductivity (EC) level of 4.16 dSm-1 in clay loam, non-saline soil. Cow manure, a form of organic waste rich in macronutrients and micronutrients was also investigated. This study focuses on examining the response of zinc and cow manure on spinach growth under salinity stress. Salinity stress resulted in reduction in seed germination, leaf area, width, length, leaf fresh and dry weight, with no significant effect on the number of leaves. High doses of zinc and cow manure (0.20g Zinc+ 150g Cow Manure + Salinity) meaningfully enhanced performance by increasing seed germination by 15-20%, leaf area 130 cm2, length 8.41 cm, width 4.8 cm , leaf fresh 0.67g and leaf dry weight 0.51g but didn’t affect the number of leaves. Overall, our results demonstrate that the application of zinc and cow manure induced resistance to salinity stress and impacts positively on Spinach growth. Future research can focus on how zinc affects enzymatic activities and various mechanisms under salt stress.