Improving Pepper Performance Under Salinity Stress With StresSal®

Salinity stress is one of the main limiting factors affecting pepper development and productivity. This trial evaluated the performance of StresSal® under saline conditions.

The study was conducted using the Plantarray functional phenotyping platform, which allows real-time monitoring of key physiological parameters such as growth rate and water use efficiency.

Trial Aim

To evaluate the ability of StresSal® to improve pepper tolerance to salinity stress, compared with plants without stress, plants under stress without treatment, and a Standard biostimulant.

Trial Conditions

Results

Growth Rate (Plant Growth Rate)

In the final phase (19–37 days), StresSal® showed the highest growth rate, reaching 2.74 g/day, outperforming both the stressed and non-stressed controls as well as the Standard Biostimulant.

This demonstrates that StresSal® effectively promotes growth during periods of higher salinity stress and supports a more sustained and efficient plant response throughout the trial, especially during the critical late-growth phase.

Water Use Efficiency (WUE)

Water-use efficiency is essential under stress conditions. Results showed that in the final phase (19–38 days), StresSal® achieved the highest WUE, surpassing both the stress control and the Standard Biostimulant.

Plants treated with StresSal® were able to convert more water into biomass, even under salinity stress.

Conclusions

The results show that StresSal® significantly improves pepper tolerance to salinity stress, clearly outperforming both controls and the Standard Biostimulant in terms of:

• Sustained late-stage growth
• Recovery and development capacity under salinity
• Higher water-use efficiency

StresSal® was the most effective treatment for maintaining growth and physiological performance under salt stress. These results reinforce its value as a key solution for crops exposed to saline irrigation water or saline soils.