APPLICATION OF ORGANIC COMPOST FOR RECLAMATION OF SOIL SALINITY FOR APPROPRIATE GROWTH OF CUCUMIS SATIVUS SEEDLINGS

Abstract

The current study was carried out to determine the effect of organic compost to minimize the consequences of salinity in order to promote vegetable cultivation at household. The research was performed at Botany department, Nusrat Jahan College Rabwah, Pakistan in 2019 to evaluate the effect of different compositions of organic compost applied to reduce soil salinity. ”Benazir'' variety of Cucumis sativus was taken from NARC Pakistan. The different compositions of compost applied in pots were 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% and five replicates were made for each treatment. Five seeds of Cucumis sativus were sown in each pot. The pots were placed in completely randomized design (CRD) and the moisture content was observed every day. The plants were harvested after 30 days, roots, shoots and leaves were preserved in a 50mM potassium phosphate buffer separately. The preserved samples were then ground, centrifuged and subjected to various biochemical tests (including total soluble proteins, hydrogen peroxide determination, ascorbate peroxidase activity and malondialdehyde content). Results of biochemical tests have shown that compost application more than 6% is more beneficial for overcoming salinity effects and growing healthy crops.