Compost-Mediated Enhancement of Maize Seedling Growth Under Salinity Stress

Abstract

Salt stress is a major abiotic constrain for maize growth and productivity, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This study assesses compost amendment applications mitigating salt stress on maize by measuring several critical growth parameters under varying salt concentrations (0, 75 and 150 mM NaCl) with and without compost applications (0 and 20 g kg-1 soil). The study used completely randomized design (CRD) with factorial arrangement having three replications of each treatment. The results indicated that salinity significantly affected all growth parameters, whereas compost application significantly enhanced performance under both normal and stressed conditions. Under high salinity (150 mM), compost significantly increased leaf area, root length and shoot length by 24.83%, 16.37% and 23.40%, respectively. Biomass traits i.e., fresh root weight and dry shoot weight were also greatly improved with compost application. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive correlations among traits, with leaf area showing high correlation with shoot length (r = 0.99) and biomass parameters (>0.90), suggesting a coordinated physiological response. The treatment–trait correlation also revealed positive relationships between compost amended treatments for all growth and biomass parameters and high salinity without compost had strong negative relationships (r = −1.00). Conclusively, compost application significantly alleviated salinity stress and enhanced maize growth performance. The results emphasize the potential of compost as sustainable soil amendment to enhance the productivity of crops in saline soils.