ساسان راستگو

Biological richness of rhizosphere has a potential to alleviate effects of salinity stress, a chal lenging issue in production of most vegetable crops in arid and semi-arid regions. A study was carried out to investigate interaction effects of salinity and a phosphate-solubilising biofertilizer on vegetative growth of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) cv. Rio fuggo and sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cv. California wonder, sown in pots. Salinity was applied through irrigation water (1.4, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 ds m-1) without or with biofertilizer, sprayed on seeds and added to soil, in a factorial completely randomized design. Germina tion rate, leaf number, total leaf area, chlorophyll content, and shoot length, fresh and dry weight were meas ured. Both factors affected almost all traits in both crops significantly. While in tomato, generally, the best re sults obtained with the least salinity, sweet pepper yielded better results at salinity of 2.5 ds m-1. Presence of biofertilizer improved the traits at all salinity levels in both crops.