Improvement of crop productivity in saline soils through application of saline-tolerant rhizosphere bacteria - Current Perspective

Worldwide salinity is one of the most severe abiotic stresses limiting crop growth and productivity. Further salt-affected area is fast escalating due to intrusion of saline water on arable land. In view of ever increasing population, it has become necessary to cultivate not only saline soil but also coastal saline to step up crop productivity. Land impoverishment is most often attributed to salt infiltration into the ground water which weakens the plants and lowers yield. Developing salt-tolerant crops is a desired alternative but with little success due to major determinants of genetic traits improving crop productivity have not been fully understood. An alternate strategy to improve crop plants for salt tolerance is to introduce salt-tolerant plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that enhance crop growth in saline soil. It is suggested that root-colonizing bacteria that produce phytohormones may stimulate plant growth and help in nutrient recycling in the rhizosphere microcosm and thus the microbes can alleviate the effects of salinity in the environment. In addition, PGPR might also increase nutrient uptake by plants from soils and thereby reduce the need for fertilizers. The present review focuses on the evaluation of saline - tolerant bacterial strains to stimulate saline tolerance and promote growth of crop plants leading to better productivity in saline soil.