Salt Tolerance and Crop Potential of Halophytes (original) (raw)
Related papers
† Background Freshwater comprises about a mere 2. 5 % of total global water, of which approximately two-thirds is locked into glaciers at the polar ice caps and on mountains. In conjunction with this, in many instances irrigation with freshwater causes an increase in soil salinity due to overirrigation of agricultural land, inefficient water use and poor drainage of unsuitable soils. The problem of salinity was recognized a long time ago and, due to the importance of irrigated agriculture, numerous efforts have been devoted towards improving crop species for better utilization of saline soils and water. Irrigating plants with saline water is a challenge for practitioners and researchers throughout the world. † Scope Recruiting wild halophytes with economic potential was suggested several decades ago as a way to reduce the damage caused by salinization of soil and water. A range of cultivation systems for the utilization of halophytes have been developed, for the production of biofuel, purification of saline effluent in constructed wetlands, landscaping , cultivation of gourmet vegetables, and more. This review critically analyses past and present halophyte-based production systems in the context of genetics, physiology, agrotechnical issues and product value. There are still difficulties that need to be overcome, such as direct germination in saline conditions or genotype selection. However, more and more research is being directed not only towards determining salt tolerance of halophytes, but also to the improvement of agricultural traits for long-term progress.
Crop diversification through halophyte production on salt-prone land resources
CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources, 2006
Rapid population growth in the less developed countries of arid and semiarid regions and concomitant decline in productivity of agricultural lands due to shortage of good-quality irrigation water and increasing soil salinity, are exerting enormous pressure on the dwindling supplies of human consumption for food. Equally or even more affected in some cases are other resources, such as fodder for animals and fuel wood for the rural poor. There is growing evidence that this trend is unlikely to reverse at least in the near future. The last quarter of the 20th century has seen an explosion of information leading to a better understanding of the biology of salt tolerance in plants. Most conventional crops have marginal salt tolerance and there is a need to explore alternate options for utilization of salt-affected lands and saline water resources. Research has indicated the potential of many halophytes to withstand high soil salinity and saline water irrigation, some even with seawater. This tolerance is achieved through a number of adaptations such as selective uptake and transport of ions, localization of ions in vacuoles, synthesis of compatible organic solutes for cytoplasmic balancing and protection of enzyme systems. As a consequence, these plants are able to reduce damage and exhibit sustained growth by establishing homeostatic conditions. A wealth of halophytic flora exists which can be exploited for an array of uses like food, fodder, fuel wood, oilseed, medicines, chemicals, landscaping, ornamentals, and environment conservation through carbon sequestration.
A critical review on halophytes: Salt tolerant plants
academicjournals.org
Present work deals with the different mechanisms which are present in salt tolerant plants against high salt concentrations of the soil by combining information from different research papers to make a comprehensive account of halophytes. It covers all the aspects of halophytes regarding their classification, mechanisms against high salt concentrations (both at physiological and molecular level). Furthermore, the article discusses the importance of halophytes and some aspects regarding the transformation of non-salt tolerant plants to salt tolerant plants. ~400 million hectares land is affected by salinity and this area is increasing day by day due to excessive irrigation practices also the world population is tremendously increasing hence we need a large amount of food supply. The crops cannot be grown on a salt affected land but nature has provided us with a unique group of plants that is, halophytes. Owing to the consumption of fossil fuels we need the fuel that can be obtained from plants and halophytes can be a good approach in this respect. They can be grown on salt affected lands, by identifying the genes present in them functioning against salinity production of transgenic crops can be done.
The development of halophyte-based agriculture: past and present
Annals of botany, 2015
Freshwater comprises about a mere 2·5 % of total global water, of which approximately two-thirds is locked into glaciers at the polar ice caps and on mountains. In conjunction with this, in many instances irrigation with freshwater causes an increase in soil salinity due to overirrigation of agricultural land, inefficient water use and poor drainage of unsuitable soils. The problem of salinity was recognized a long time ago and, due to the importance of irrigated agriculture, numerous efforts have been devoted towards improving crop species for better utilization of saline soils and water. Irrigating plants with saline water is a challenge for practitioners and researchers throughout the world. Recruiting wild halophytes with economic potential was suggested several decades ago as a way to reduce the damage caused by salinization of soil and water. A range of cultivation systems for the utilization of halophytes have been developed, for the production of biofuel, purification of sal...
Halophyte agriculture: Success stories
2014
The world's food production will need to increase by up to 70% by 2050 to match the predicted population growth. Achieving this goal will be challenging due to the decreased availability of arable land, resulting from urbanization and land degradation. Soil salinity is a major factor contributing to the latter process. While some improvement in crop yields in saline soils may be achieved as a consequence of single gene transfers, the real progress may be achieved only via a painfully slow "pyramiding" of essential physiological traits. Given the time constraints, a safer solution to meet the 2050 challenge may be to find alternative crop and forage species for farming in salt-affected conditions and to restore salt-affected areas. This review focuses on the suitability of halophytes to become important components of 21st century farming systems. We provide a comprehensive summary of the current use of halophytes for human food consumption, for forage and animal feeds, as oilseed and energy crops, and for desalination and phytoremediation purposes. We argue that the use of halophytes may be a viable commercial alternative to ease pressure on the requirement of good quality land and water for conventional cropping systems and the utilization of land degraded by salinity.
Coping with Saline Environment: Learning from Halophytes
Plant Ecophysiology and Adaptation under Climate Change: Mechanisms and Perspectives I
Salt stress is a crucial barrier to crop growth, development, and production and hence negatively affects food security globally. In addition, the current trends of climate change increase the frequencies and severities of drought and heat which accelerate and spread the processes of salt mobilization and accumulation within the upper horizons of arid and semiarid soil. Elevated salinization in arid and semiarid regions necessitates development of economic and environmentally friendly saline agriculture to be comparable with world population increase. As salt stress is a multi-factorial phenomenon caused by various factors or a combination of factors leading to a complex tolerance mechanism, the utilization of suited
Potential Use of Halophytes to Remediate Saline Soils
BioMed Research International, 2014
Salinity is one of the rising problems causing tremendous yield losses in many regions of the world especially in arid and semiarid regions. To maximize crop productivity, these areas should be brought under utilization where there are options for removing salinity or using the salt-tolerant crops. Use of salt-tolerant crops does not remove the salt and hence halophytes that have capacity to accumulate and exclude the salt can be an effective way. Methods for salt removal include agronomic practices or phytoremediation. The first is cost-and labor-intensive and needs some developmental strategies for implication; on the contrary, the phytoremediation by halophyte is more suitable as it can be executed very easily without those problems. Several halophyte species including grasses, shrubs, and trees can remove the salt from different kinds of salt-affected problematic soils through salt excluding, excreting, or accumulating by their morphological, anatomical, physiological adaptation in their organelle level and cellular level. Exploiting halophytes for reducing salinity can be good sources for meeting the basic needs of people in salt-affected areas as well. This review focuses on the special adaptive features of halophytic plants under saline condition and the possible ways to utilize these plants to remediate salinity.