Mitigation of Salt Stress in Lactuca sativa L. var. Gentile Rossa Using Microalgae as Priming Agents

Using renewable biomass in agriculture, particularly microalgae as a biostimulant, offers economic and environmental sustainability benefits by reducing costs, improving nutrient cycling, and enhancing water use efficiency. Microalgae contain bioactive compounds that boost crop tolerance to environmental stresses, including salinity. Saline soils, characterized by elevated sodium chloride (NaCl) levels, negatively impact many crops, resulting in low productivity and high remediation costs. Therefore, this study evaluates the biostimulant properties of a microalgae-based commercial preparation (MR) on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants grown hydroponically and exposed to saline stress. The extract was chemically characterized through elemental analysis, lipid composition (gas chromatography with flame ionization detector-GC-FID), the determination of functional groups (Fourier Transformed Infrared-FT-IR), structure (¹H,¹³C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance-NMR), with their hormone-like activity also assessed. Lettuce plants were treated with or without the microalgae blend, in combination with 0, 50 mM, or 100 mM NaCl. The contents of nutrients, soluble proteins, chlorophylls, and phenols, as well as the lipid peroxidation, antioxidants and root traits of lettuce plants, were estimated. The microalgae applied to salt-stressed plants resulted in a significant increase in biomass, protein, and chlorophyll contents. Additionally, significant effects on the secondary metabolism and mitigation of salinity stress were observed in terms of increased phenol content and the activity of antioxidant enzymes, as well as decreased lipid peroxidation. The potassium (K⁺) content was increased significantly in plants treated with 100 mM NaCl after addition of microalgae, while the content of sodium (Na⁺) was concurrently reduced. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that using microalgae can be a potent approach for improving the cultivation of Lactuca sativa L. under saline stress conditions.