Salt Stress Effects on Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) Plants with and without Seaweed Extract (Ascophyllum nodosum) Application

Salinity is one of the major factors limiting avocado yield, primarily due to the high concentration of ions in irrigation water. An experiment was conducted on 2 year old avocado plants (Persea americana Mill.) cv. Hass, grafted onto Duke 7 clonal rootstock growing in pots, to determine the effect of salt stress on growth, as well as physiological and biochemical responses, and the effect of seaweed extract (Ascophyllum nodosum) on salinity stress. Treatments consisted of different types of irrigation water: distilled water, 9 mM NaCl water, distilled water + 2.25 mL of seaweed extract, 9 mM NaCl water + 2.25 mL of seaweed extract and, 9 mM NaCl water + 1.5 mL of seaweed extract. The irrigation treatment was applied every 15 days for 8 months. Treatments with salt reduced plant growth by approximately 50% of the fresh weight of all avocado plant tissues. Seaweed extract reduced the effects of abiotic stress only at an early stage, and increased potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) concentrations in leaves.