Impact of salinity and fertilization on soil properties, and root development in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) cultivation

Abstract

Salinity is a paramount factor that poses challenges to agricultural productivity and sustainability. At the same time, fenugreek is valued as a forage crop for its medicinal properties in addition to its extensive edible use. The objective of this study is to explore how fertilization and salinity impact soil physical properties and root system development in fenugreek cultivation. A field experiment was established at the Agricultural University of Athens during growing seasons 2019-2020 (1st GS) and 2020-2021 (2nd GS) in a split-splot design with the 2 main salinity treatments (High salinity; HS & Conventional salinity; CS) and 5 fertilization treatments (biocyclic-vegan (BHS), manure (FYM), compost (COMP), inorganic fertilization (11-15-15) and the control (C). Soil porosity was statistically significantly affected by both salinity (p<=0.05) and fertilization (p<=0.001). Also, organic matter was significantly affected by fertilization (p<=0.001). HS (59.78±2.65) resulted in 20.02% fewer nodules on plant roots compared to CS treatments (71.75±2.65). The maximum number of nodules was recorded in the FYM treatment (68.93±0.77). In addition, mean root diameter was affected by fertilization (p<=0.01) COMP (2.92±0.31 mm) and NPK treatments (2.83±0.31 mm) resulted in 19.52% and 23.32% smaller root diameter respectively compared to BHS, while FYM (2.68±0.31 mm) resulted in a 30.22% smaller diameter. A significant increase of seed yield was noticed under organic fertilization where the highest yield of 2.1 t ha−1 was recorded in BHS (2nd GS). Although fenugreek was affected by high salinity, it demonstrated considerable resistance and maintained its yields, rendering it a crop suitable for challenging soils.

Keywords

• biocyclic - vegan agriculture
• fenugreek
• salinity
• soil porosity
• root density