Synergistic Effects of Biofertilizer and Humic Acid on Soil Fertility Nutrient Uptake and Productivity of Zea mays Under Salinity Stress

The essential soil salinity condition of arid and semi-arid territories functions as a fundamental abiotic factor which creates obstacles for plants to receive nutrients while decreasing agricultural yield. The study investigated how biofertilizer from Klebsiella oxytoca combined with humic acid (HA) affected soil characteristics through its two separate actions and its combined impact during saline stress conditions when maize ( Zea mays L.) developed its grains. In this experiment, a randomized complete block design (RCBD) was utilized to test four treatments over three replications while employing three different irrigation salinity levels: S₀ (1.6 dS m⁻¹), S₁ (3.0 dS m⁻¹), and S₂ (6.0 dS m⁻¹). The combination of biofertilizer and HA treatment raised soil organic matter by 18.7% and chlorophyll content (SPAD) by 26.8% and nitrogen uptake by 25.7% and grain yield by 25.4% beyond the control group. The study results show that microbial inoculants can effectively reduce salinity-related yield losses in combination with humic substances which improve soil health for maize production systems that provide sustainable solutions to manage saline soils.