| Abstrakt: |
Drought, characterized by water scarcity, and salinity, marked by excessive salt accumulation in soil, pose significant challenges to agricultural productivity, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide. In the face of shifting climatic patterns and global warming, these abiotic stresses profoundly impact crop yield and grain quality. The combined effects of water scarcity and soil salinity restrict crops from reaching their full genetic potential, leading to morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular alterations across all growth stages. Urgent measures are required to enhance crop resilience to severe drought and salinity stresses, prompting the need for breeding programs aimed at developing drought- and salt-tolerant crop varieties. However, the complexity of drought and salinity tolerance, characterized by low heritability and significant genotype-by-environment interactions, poses challenges to breeders. Mechanisms such as drought escape, avoidance, and tolerance, as well as ion exclusion, compartmentalization, osmotic adjustment, and antioxidant defense systems for salinity, play crucial roles in plant survival and productivity under stress conditions. Osmoregulation, facilitated by the synthesis and accumulation of osmolytes like soluble proteins, sugars, and amino acids, is particularly vital for maintaining osmotic balance under low water potential. This review underscores the impact of drought and salinity stress on plants and highlights the diverse mechanisms contributing to stress tolerance, offering valuable insights for researchers engaged in the development of tolerant crop varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
