Improvement of Nutrient Content, Physiological Traits and Grain Yield of Maize Varieties Grown in Saline Soil by Combining Biochar, Mycorrhizal Fungi and Silicon Foliar Application

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In the studies that have been conducted on the effect of resources that increase tolerance to salt stress, their individual use has often been considered. Also, there is little evidence of their synergistic effects, especially for plants grown in saline soil conditions. In this research, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design in 2020 and 2021. The first factor was 3 maize varieties including 704, 604 and 370 and the second factor was resources ameliorating the adverse effects of salinity including control, single, dual and combined use of biochar (Bch), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) and silicon foliar application (SiFA). The results showed that leaves sodium concentration in the combined treatment of Bch + AMF + SiFA decreased by 13% compared to the control. In 704 the concentration of potassium and nitrogen in the combination of Bch + AMF + SiFA respectively showed an increase of 25 and 22% compared to the control. Also, dual consumption of treatments caused an increase in leaf iron, zinc, copper and manganese. Combined use of treatments decreased ion leakage and increased the relative water content and the photosynthetic pigments. In 604 and 370, the grain yield was respectively increased by 10 and 18% in the combination of Bch + AMF + SiFA compared to the control. Considering the positive effect of treatments in improving seed yield and seed oil percentage, the combination of Bch + AMF + SiFA can be recommended under salt stress.