Growth and Physiological Response of Strawberry under Salt Stress: Role of Glycine Betaine and Seaweed Extract

Abstract

Strawberry is one of the most salt-sensitive horticultural economic crops. In our study, strawberry cv. Festival plants were subjected to salt stress (8 dS/m EC) to investigate the individual and combined effects of Glycine betaine (GB) (60 mM) and Seaweed extract (SWE) (8 ml/L) with different number of applications (one, two, three times) on growth, chlorophyll content, antioxidant activity, some fruit-quality parameters and yield. This research aims to alleviate salt stress-induced growth inhibition and to advance sustainable strategies for improving crop tolerance and yield under saline conditions. This experiment followed three replications and seven treatments in pots, including a control, individual GB/SWE applications, their combinations, and a salt stress level. The results indicated that GB and SWE treatments significantly improved growth characteristics, i.e. leaf area, root and vegetative growth, total yield, and fruit quality characters under salinity stress. Notably, the combined GB+SWE treatment outperformed individual applications, demonstrating 98% greater fruit weight per plant compared to salt-stressed plant and 80% over non-stressed plant, and a synergistic efficacy in restoring physiological functions by increasing antioxidant activity around 59% in the salt-stressed plant. This approach represents a highly effective strategy to mitigate salinity stress on strawberry cultivation, offering eco-friendly alternatives to maximize yield under salinity without needing freshwater-intensive practices, supporting water-scarce or saline-affected areas.