Copper Sulfate Nanoparticle Mediated Alleviation of Salinity Induced Yield Losses in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Abstract

Salinity stress is one of the most severe abiotic constraints limiting tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production globally, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Based upon preliminary trials, this study investigated the potential of nano-copper sulfate (nano-CuSO4, 10 ppm) application in alleviating the detrimental effects of salt stress (100 mM NaCl) in the salinity-susceptible tomato variety Pant Tomato-3 (PT-3). A completely randomized design (CRD) experiment with three replications was conducted under polyhouse conditions. Four treatments were imposed, namely, control (C), salinity stress (S, 100 mM NaCl), nano-CuSO4 treatment (N, 10 ppm) and nano-CuSO4 treatment under salinity stress (T, 100 mM NaCl + 10 ppm nano-CuSO4). Key growth and yield-related parameters like number of leaves per plant, number of trusses per plant, number of flowers per truss and number of fruits per plant were recorded at plant maturity. Results demonstrated that 100 mM NaCl significantly reduced all measured parameters compared to the control, confirming the salinity-susceptible nature of Pant T-3. Nano-CuSO4 only treatment (N) marginally enhanced growth and yield attributes relative to the control. Nano-CuSO₄ application under salinity (T) improved the number of trusses per plant by 46 % and fruits per plant by 29% over the salinity-only treatment (S). These findings suggest that nano-CuSO4 application at 10 ppm holds promise as a cost-effective strategy to improve tomato performance under moderate salinity stress conditions.