Inoculation of Chlorella and Food Waste Improves the Physio-Morphological Features of Red Pepper by Regulating Activating Antioxidant Defense System

Food waste is recognized as a valuable source for potential agricultural applications to supply organic matter and nutrients to arable soil. However, the information on the combined application of food waste and the plant growth-promoting bacterial strain, Chlorella, related to plant metabolic features and sodium chloride content in arable soil is limited. The present study was conducted to investigate the exogenous application of food waste along with Chlorella, which improved the physio-morphological features of red pepper. Our results revealed that this combination enhanced the organic matter in the soil, ultimately improving the fertility rate of the soil, and the physio-morphological features, such as chlorophyll a content (24.5 +/- 0.7), root (7.8 +/- 0.7) cm and shoot length (12.1 +/- 0.7) cm, fresh weight (2.1 +/- 0.05) g, dry weight (0.19 +/- 0.05) g, mineral contents, and hormonal concentration (ABA by up to 2 folds). The combined treatment also minimized free radicals via the activation of the intrinsic antioxidant series cascade and electrolyte leakage. Our findings showed that adding Chlorella and food wastes improved growth characteristics and can be used as a green bio-fertilizer for sustainable agriculture.