Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is of great economic importance and constitutes one of the model plants for salinity and drought tolerance in the Mediterranean climate. This study aimed to study the physiological responses of Q6 (a quinoa line developed by International Center for Bio-saline Agriculture (ICBA) in cooperation with the National Center for Agricultural Research (NARC), Jordan) grown under in vitro salt-stressing conditions (MS Media plus either 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, or 200 mM of NaCl) and to determine the highest salt level that Q6 plantlets can tolerate. After this, different levels of chemically synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) (25, 50, and 75 mg/L) were added to the growth MS media to examine if they can boost the mitigation powers of Q6 plantlets against the highest salt level that the Q6 plantlets could tolerate. Data showed that all tested growth parameters were negatively affected by adding NaCl to the media at all levels. Shoot length, proliferation, and fresh and dry weights declined to reach minimum values at 200 mM NaCl when compared to the other NaCl levels. Similarly, chlorophyll, protein, and ion content were negatively affected when exposed to NaCl at all levels, while proline increased significantly with increasing NaCl in the growth media. The addition of Ag NPs resulted in improving the mitigation powers of Q6 plantlets, especially when 75 mg/L Ag NPs were added, as this resulted in a significant improvement in microshoot growth under 200 mM NaCl when compared to the control. Adding 75 mg/L of Ag NPs to 200 mM NaCl improved shoot growth (3.56 cm) when compared to (1.04 cm) obtained plantlets that were grown in 200 mM NaCl alone. Further, other growth parameters were almost doubled by adding 75 mg/L of Ag NPs to 200 mM NaCl when compared to 200 mM NaCl alone. Additionally, adding Ag NPs (especially at the 75 mg/L level) to the media improved total chlorophyll, protein, and ion content while also reducing proline when compared to the control, which indicated an improvement in microshoot tolerance to salt-stressing conditions. These results indicate that adding specific concentrations of Ag NPs improves the growth performance and stress tolerance of Q6 grown under salt-stressing conditions.

Background: Pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) is a highly valuable tropical fruit with significant economic importance. However, conventional propagation methods struggle to meet the growing demand for planting materials. Micropropagation offers a viable solution, though its efficiency is often limited by poor rooting. This study investigates the effects of three auxins-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)-on pineapple micropropagation, aiming to optimize plant regeneration and enhance rooting efficiency. Methods: Following sterilization, axillary buds measuring approximately 1.0-1.5 cm in length were carefully excised from the crowns and cultured as explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 4 mg/L benzyladenine (BAP) for shoot initiation. For root induction, microshoots were transferred to MS medium containing NAA, IAA, or IBA at concentrations of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mg/L. After four weeks, shoot length, leaf number, root number and root length were measured. Result: All auxin treatments significantly improved root and shoot development compared to the control (p less than 0.05). Indoleacetic acid (IAA) at 0.5 mg/L produced the longest roots (30.82 mm) compared to the control (10.15 mm) and other treatments, indicating its superior efficacy in promoting root development. These findings provide a practical approach to enhancing micropropagation efficiency, contributing to sustainable and scalable pineapple cultivation.