ABSTRACT
Salinity is a major abiotic stress, severely and adversely affecting crop productivity and functionality. The US Salinity Laboratory classified soils into four categories: normal soil, saline soil, sodic soil, and saline-sodic soil. Salinity adversely affects plant growth and development. Under drought- or salinity-induced water deficiency, plants undergo anatomical changes in xylem by decreasing the ratio of vessel lumen to cell wall thickness to reduce cavitation and cell collapse in xylem. Large interspecific and intraspecific differences of salinity tolerance exist in plants, including woody species. Woody plants have no salt tolerance at germination, low tolerance at the seedling stage, and high tolerance at the juvenile stage. Plant water stress or water deficiency induced by salinity is called osmotic stress or physiological drought. Osmotic adjustment may be achieved through accumulation of inorganic ions and/or organic osmolytes, resulting in reduced osmotic potential in plant cells, and then water moves inside plant cells. Transcriptional responses to salinity varied in sexuality in some plant species.
