SALT STRESS IN FRUIT CROPS AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Due to the presence of excess soluble salt in the soil, soil salinity is a key abiotic stress and one of the major environmental issues affecting plant productivity, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Salt damage typically shows up as leaf burn and defoliation and is linked to dangerous amounts of Na+ and/or Cl building up in leaf cells. The osmotic effect and/or excessive ion accumulation in the plant tissues, which may result in ionic toxicity and/or nutritional imbalance, are common causes of crop growth inhibition under saline circumstances. The degree to which any stress condition impacts a plant’s growth or development depends on a number of variables, including the kind of plant, cultivar, and phenological stage, the composition of the soluble salts, the intensity and duration of the stress, and the edaphoclimatic conditions.