The Mitigating Effect of Calcium‐EDTA on Growth and Morpho–Physiological Parameters of Saline‐Water‐Irrigated Garlic Plants

Garlic ( Allium sativum L.) is a valuable vegetable crop with rich nutritional and medicinal properties, which is vulnerable to salinity stress. To investigate the effect of salt and to enhance the salinity stress tolerance, garlic plants were stressed (35, 50, 70 mM NaCl) and treated (irrigated) with different concentrations (0.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 g L −1 ) of Ca‐EDTA in a two‐season greenhouse experiment. At the end of each season, the plants’ vegetative growth parameters, yield components, physiological, and biochemical markers of stress response were analyzed. The detrimental effects of salinity stress were evident in terms of plant height, leaves’ fresh weight and dry matter, bulb weight and diameter, as well as bulb dry matter. The results revealed a significant improvement in vegetative growth and yield components after Ca‐EDTA treatment in a concentration‐dependent manner. Salinity stress also caused a reduction in photosynthetic pigments and relative water content, while increasing the proline concentration. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase, increased at all salinity levels and significantly decreased after the application of Ca‐EDTA, with the best mitigation effects being observed in the samples of 4.0 gL −1 treatment. Positive correlations were observed between the bulb fresh weight and most of the studied traits. The findings of this study can offer valuable insights for optimizing garlic cultivation under salinity stress, aiding in the development of effective strategies to enhance crop productivity and mitigating the negative impacts of salinity on agricultural systems.