Effects of Hyperosmotic Salinity on Protein Patterns and Enzyme Activities

Salt is so abundant on our planet that it is a major constraint to global food crop production, jeopardizing the capacity of agriculture to sustain the burgeoning human population increase (Flowers 2004). It is estimated that 20% of all cultivated land and nearly half of irrigated land is salt-affected, greatly reducing yield well below the genetic potential. Thus, salinization is of major concern for global food production (Pitman and Läuchli 2002). Therefore, different types of soil salinity and their effects on plant growth have been analyzed in detail to develop breeding and cropping strategies to lessen the current problem (Munns 2005).