Results
Salt stress-induced marked significant reductions in vegetative parameters (shoot height,root length,stem diameter,and the number of leaves plant-1),yet MLE-treated plants exhibited enhanced growth compared to the untreated and control plants. Salinity adversely affected chlorophyll content,relative water content,and membrane stability index,all of which were significantly ameliorated by MLE application. Additionally,MLE treatment bolstered the activity of catalase,peroxidase,superoxide dismutase,and proline accumulation,contributing to improved plant resilience. Notably,MLE-treated plants demonstrated significantly increased yields compared to untreated counterparts. These findings underscore the potential of MLE as a bioresource for mitigating salt stress in tomato plants,offering promising avenues for sustainable crop management in the highly saline soil in a region like Qatar.