Enhancing Salt Tolerance in Foxtail Millet Through Organic Inputs: A Soil–Plant–Microbe Interaction Perspective

Soil fertility has been adversely affected by salinity, leading to hindered crop physiological performance. Organic amendments (OAs) were assigned as tools for soil conditioning and fertility enhancement to mitigate the effects of soil salinity in the experiment. The study sought to determine whether OAs like biochar (BC), vermicompost (VC), dhaincha ( Sesbania ), and duckweed ( Lemna minor ) impacted the nutrient content of leaves, soil fertility, and the overall soil microbial population of foxtail millet at two levels of salinity. A pot trial was performed in a net house using saline (100 and 150 mM NaCl) and nonsaline soil mixed with the four mentioned OAs. According to the results, soil salinity considerably decreased the amount of leaf nutrients and reduced soil Rhizobium and phosphorous‐solubilizing bacteria (PSB) population by 4 × 10 5 and 10 × 10 5 . On the other hand, the addition of Sesbania and VC enhanced the bacterial population in the soil under salt stress. The addition of OAs significantly improves the nutrient status of the leaves followed by the calcium‐to‐sodium (Ca:Na) and potassium‐to‐sodium (K:Na) ratios. Likewise, the application of Sesbania and BC boosted the quantity of exchangeable K in the soil and raised the availability of phosphorus (P) and total nitrogen (N), resulting in the overall improvement the of soil organic matter (OM). The experiment revealed a strong positive association between the OAs and SOM, N, P, and K. The study suggests applying Sesbania and BC in saltwater conditions can be an effective management strategy for enhancing foxtail millet’s soil fertility, microbial population, and leaf nutrient content. It can also support sustainable agricultural management of salt‐affected soils.