Ecology and Physiology of Plant growth in relation to soil salinity

Abstract

This work is intended as a review of soil salinity as one common abiotic stress in ecological systems that adversely affect plant growth. In arid and semi arid areas, saline areas or areas irrigated with saline waters, most plant species exhibit reductions in growth and yield. The degree of salinization is a function of several factors including, the length of time over which the salts have been deposited, frequency of deposition, salt content of ground water, chemical composition and permeability of the underlying parent rock. Understanding the ecology of plant growth in relation to salinity is paramount for breeding and genetic engineering of salt tolerant plants. Exploitation of natural genetic variations and generation of transgenic plants with novel genes or altered expression levels of the existing genes are two major approaches being used to improve stress tolerance in plants. This paper …