ABSTRACT The agrochemical properties of a forest soil and the effects of NaCl and Na₂SO₄ salt stress on the local “Piyada” variety of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were studied. A forest soil sample from the Tovuz–Gazakh belt showed high natural fertility, with a high humus content and adequate supplies of ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, mobile phosphorus, and exchangeable potassium; analysis of its watersoluble salts showed a low salt content and no carbonate salinization, confirming that the soil is non-saline and ecologically stable. Salinization of this soil with NaCl or Na₂SO₄ at increasing concentrations raised the electrical conductivity and shifted the pH from slightly alkaline toward neutral, with NaCl exerting a stronger effect than Na₂SO₄. In the bean plant, increasing salt stress markedly reduced the germination percentage, germination energy, seedling, root and shoot length, and the tolerance index, and lowered the dry biomass of shoots and roots while slightly increasing tissue moisture content, interpreted as an adaptive waterretention response. Salt stress also disrupted the leaf water balance: the relative water content decreased, the water deficit increased, and the leaf area was reduced as an adaptive means of limiting transpiration. In 7-, 10-, and 14-day-old seedlings, the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids declined and the chlorophyll a/b ratio rose, indicating damage to the photosynthetic apparatus and a weakening of photosynthesis and of the antioxidant defense system. Across all parameters, NaCl produced a more pronounced negative effect than Na₂SO₄, showing that the type of salt — and the higher toxicity of chloride relative to sulfate ions — plays a significant role in the growth and development of the common bean under salinity.