Speakers - 2026

Title: Enhancing salinity tolerance in licorice (glycyrrhiza glabra l.) through fungal formulations

Abstract

Approximately half of Faryab’s agricultural lands face salinity stress, with declining soil and water quality reducing crop yields and economic returns. About 27 million hectares in Iran are affected by salinity, highlighting the need for salt-tolerant crops. Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L), a drought- and salt-tolerant medicinal plant, faces challenges in seed germination under saline conditions. Using salt-tolerant, plant growth-promoting fungi can improve germination and stress tolerance. Although many fungi have been identified, few studies focus on formulating fungal carriers that maintain population viability and efficacy over time. This study aims to develop effective fungal formulations to preserve fungal populations long-term and enhance licorice’s salinity tolerance. The growth potential of these fungal species was evaluated at different salinity levels, including 0.045, 0.31, 0.63, 1.04, 1.36, 2.14, 3.04, 3.95, and 4.71 percent sodium chloride, using a completely randomized design with three replications. To assess the effect of fungal treatments on improving licorice salinity tolerance, a pot experiment was conducted at the National Salinity Research Center using a factorial design with two fungal factors (Trichoderma harzianum, Epicoccum nigrum, and a control without fungal application) and four salinity levels (0, 5, 10, and 15 dS/m) with three replicates. The results showed that T. harzianum, T. atroviride, T. longibrachiatum, and T. reesei were least affected by salinity (0.045 to 4.71% sodium chloride) and could cover the entire 8 cm Petri dish at different salinity levels. Salinity treatments significantly affected all measured traits, while fungal treatments significantly influenced plant height, root dry weight, and ion leakage. The highest plant height (~38 cm) was observed under no salt stress and without fungal treatments. Under 5 dS/m salinity, fungal inoculation with E. nigrum and T. harzianum increased plant height compared to uninoculated controls. Root dry weight was highest without salt stress, and fungal application significantly increased root dry weight. Although no significant difference was found between the two fungal species on root dry weight, inoculation with E. nigrum increased root dry weight by 15.73% compared to the control. Certain fungal species, especially T. harzianum and E. nigrum, exhibit strong tolerance to salinity and promote licorice growth under saline conditions. These fungi represent potential biological agents to enhance licorice salinity tolerance and could be integrated into sustainable agricultural practices for saline environments.

The audience take away from your presentation:

• The audience can use the findings of this study to identify salt-tolerant Licorice populations and apply this knowledge in saline agricultural regions. 
• The results help researchers, faculty members, and agronomists improve research, teaching, crop selection, and management under salinity stress. 
• This study also provides a practical solution for using medicinal plants such as Licorice in areas affected by saline soil and poor-quality irrigation water. 
• It offers new field-based information that improves the accuracy of selecting suitable populations and understanding which traits are most affected by salinity. 
• In addition, it supports breeding programs, sustainable agriculture, better use of marginal lands, and the development of strategies for crop production in arid and semi-arid regions.