Soil Amendment with Raw Garlic Stalk: A Novel Strategy to Stimulate Growth and the Antioxidative Defense System in Monocropped Eggplant in the North of China

• Main Authors: Muhammad Imran Ghani, Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Jawaad Atif, Muhammad Ali, Bakht Amin, Muhammad Anees, Zhihui Cheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-02-01
• Series: Agronomy
• Subjects: raw garlic stalk; eggplant; antioxidants; plant growth; plant defense
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/2/89

Garlic (<i>Allium Sativum</i> L.) is a vegetable with known medicinal value. It is not only rich in nutrients, but also has the ability to combat different microbial infections. This is, however, the first study to investigate the effect of soil incorporation of the raw garlic stalk (RGS) on the growth and antioxidative defense system of eggplant. The experiments were conducted in pots using soil amendments of RGS in different ratios (RGS1 1:100; RGS2 3:100; RGS3 5:100 and control (CK) 0:100 of RGS: Soil <i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) and repeated in two consecutive years (2016 and 2017). A dose-dependent response of RGS amendment was observed in the growth and physiology of the eggplant. RGS1 and RGS2 significantly enhanced the plant height, root/shoot weight, stem diameter, leaf area, root length, root activity, pigment contents (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll), and photosynthetic parameters, but reduced intracellular CO₂ (Ci) and enhanced fruit yield as compared with the respective controls. Consistently, RGS also enhanced activities of antioxidative enzymes of eggplant reported as a defense against stress indicators. RGS in its higher ratios (RGS3), however, caused a reduction in all of the growth and physiological parameters and increased stress indicators such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Overall, RGS2 was found to be the most efficient for regulation of plant defense systems, reducing H₂O₂ and MDA and enhancing superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and phenylalanine ammonia&#8315;lyase (PAL) activity. It can be concluded that the appropriate ratio of RGS could efficiently promote plant growth and regulate the reactive oxygen-based plant defense system.