Growth and Antioxidant Responses of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) to Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Inoculation and Seaweed Extract Foliar Application

Biofertilizers, such as arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) and seaweed extract (SWE), have been effective in environmental and agricultural ecosystems. In this study, the effects of AMF, SWE, and their co-application were assayed on the growth and antioxidant potential of lettuce plants. The experiment was conducted as a factorial based on a completely randomized design with two factors and four replications under greenhouse conditions. The first factor was AMF (Glomus mosseae) at two levels consisting of AMF application (20 g pot(-1)), and without using AMF; and the second factor was SWE foliar spraying (Ascophyllum nodosum) at 0.5, 1.5 and 3 g L-1 concentration. The results revealed that the highest root colonization (85%) belonged to AMF and SWE (3 g L-1) x AMF; the lowest colonization rate (65%) was observed for AMF x SWE (0.5 g L-1) treatment. The highest growth parameters (leaf number, shoot and root fresh weight, head diameter), biochemical traits (total soluble proteins, carbohydrates content) and TAA, total antioxidant activity by FRAP method and ascorbic acid, total phenolics, and flavonoids content were obtained with the co-applications. Therefore, the best results of the evaluated traits were achieved with AMF x SWE (3 g L-1). The TAA value was increased three-fold compared to the control. Total phenolics and flavonoids content were 2.24 and 6.59 times higher than the control, respectively. On the other hand, leaf dry weight was decreased with the further growth of the plants. Overall, the co-application of AMF with SWE can be recommended to producers as an alternative and environment-friendly strategy to improve the qualitative and quantitative traits of the lettuce crop.