The effect of Humic acid, Vermicompost and Mycorrhizal fungus on the characteristics of Silybum marianum medicinal plant influenced by salinity stress

Silybum marianum is a one-year lasting medicinal plant which grows around the world. This herb is used to treat liver disease and prevent hepatitis. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of salinity, Humic acid, Vermi-compost and two types of mycorrhizal fungi on the characteristics of Silybum marianum plants. This research is carried out in two phase in a random design and three replications. To do so, two species of mycorrhizal fungi including Glomus mosseae and Glomus intraradices were used and salinity treatments were applied at 3 levels of 2, 4 and 8 dS/m. In the other part, fungi and four levels of humic acid and three levels of vermicompost have been used. Some morphological characteristics and four enzymes of Superoxide dismutase, Peroxidase, Catalase and Silybin were measured. The results indicate that with increasing salinity, plant characteristics such as root length, seedling dry weight, germinating percentage and stem length decreased significantly and the duration of germination has also increased. Moreover, the highest germination percentage (95.98%) and the lowest one (70.32%) were observed in Glomus intraradices and Glomus mossea under 2 dS/m and 8 dS/m salinity conditions respectively. The highest amount of enzymes was obtained in the treatment of vermicompost (75%) and humic acid (75 mg/l) under growth conditions of Glomus intraradices. It has been observed that the usage of mycorrhizal fungus in species, Glomus mosseae and Glomus intraradices, has improved plant Silybum marianum characteristics (Morphologic of properties such as root length, seedling, dry matter and shoot length, and biochemistry of properties such as Superoxide dismutase, Peroxidase, Catalase and Silybin).