The increased tolerance to the salt-stress was manifested in
terms of improved growth and photosynthetic pigments (total
chlorophyll; Table 3) and the subsequent fruit yield (Table 4).
The present investigation also shows that salinity stress caused
a significant reduction in the chlorophyll concentration (in the
control; Table 3). The decrease in chlorophyll content may
be attributed to increased activity of chlorophyll-degrading
enzyme chlorophyllase, under stress conditions (Reddy and
Vora, 1986) and may by the inhibition of their biosynthesis and
consequently may disturb the photosynthetic process. While,
soil application with the organo-mineral fertilizer enables
plants to overcome the adverse effects of salinity stress and
consequently the increase in the content of total chlorophyll
positively reflecting in the plant growth (Table 3). All levels of
the organo-mineral fertilizer significantly increased the fruit
yield of tomato plants due to the higher shoot and root DWs
(Table 3), nutrient status of plants (Table 5) and activity of
antioxidant enzymes (Table 6).