salt injury

1. SALT INJURY IN PLANTS

2. Introduction
• Salt
• Either damaging or beneficial
• Sources

3. How salt are harmful to plants?
• Too high concentration
• Four ways
– Osmotic influences
– Reduction in permeability and water infiltration
– Specific ion toxicities
– Imbalance

5. • Ions contribute to soil salinity Cl-, S04
2-, HC03
-,
Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and, rarely, N03
- or K+
• The salts of these ions occur in highly variable
concentrations and proportions
• Indigenous, brought into an area in the irrigation
water or in waters draining from adjacent areas
• Natural drainage is often so poorly developed in
arid regions that salts collect in inland basins
rather than being discharged to the sea
• Saline soils affect plant growth adversely (EC>4
mmho/cm)

7. Plant symptoms
• Grow slowly, stunted
• Leaves smaller, but may be thicker
• Chlorides increases elongation of palisade cells
• Leaves of salt-affected plants are often darker
green (In crucifers and some grasses, thicker
layers of surface wax cause a bluish-green cast)
• Stunting of fruits as well as leaves and stems
• Comparison with normal plants

8. Plant symptoms (Cont.)
• Trees, vines, and shrubs often show specific leaf
injury caused by toxic accumulations of chloride or
sodium
• Characteristic marginal or tip burn (leaves
accumulate about 0.5% Cl or 0.2% Na) (Bernstein,
1965)
• Bougainvillea spp. can accumulate chloride
without leaf injury (Bernstein et al.,1972)
• Bronzing of leaves, rather than leaf burn, indicates
chloride toxicity in privet and citrus (Bernstein et
al., 1972)
• Most non woody plants do not develop leaf burn

9. Highly tolerant Moderately tolerant Sensitive
Datepalm, barley
sugarbeet, cotton,
asparagus, spinach
Wheat, tomato,
alfalfa, oats, maize,
rice, flax, onion,
potato, carrot,
onion, cucumber,
olive, grape, fig,
pomegranate
Red clover, peas,
beans, sugarcane,
pear, apple, plum,
orange, almond,
apricot, peach
Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/r4082e/r4082e08.htm

12. Developments from CSSRI
• Seven salt tolerant varieties of rice (CSR 43 in 2011, CSR 36 in 2005,
CSR 30 in 2001, CSR 27 in 1998, CSR 23 in 2004, CSR 13 in 1998, and
CSR 10 in 1989) have been developed through hybridization breeding
approach and released
• Four salt tolerant varieties of wheat (KRL 1-4 in 1990, KRL 19 in 2000,
KRL 210 and KRL 213 in 2010) have been developed and released.
• Three salt tolerant varieties of mustard (CS 52, CS 54 and CS 56) and
one chickpea through hybridization breeding approach have been
developed
• Salt tolerance indices for less Na uptake and ability to sequester toxic
ions established for rice, wheat and mustard
• Rapid and reliable laboratory methods for screening of genotypes for
salt and waterlogging tolerance developed
• Genetic diversity for micro-element toxicities and waterlogging in
wheat germplasm identified
• Germplasm tolerance of rice to dual tolerance sodicity and zinc
deficiency identified

13. References
• Acosta-Motos, J.R., Ortuño, M.F., Bernal-Vicente, A., Diaz-
Vivancos, P., Sanchez-Blanco, M.J., and Hernandez ,J.A.
2017. Plant Responses to Salt stress: Adaptive mechanisms.
Agronomy. doi:10.3390/agronomy7010018. Pp 1-38
• Berstein, L. 1975. Effect of salinity and sodicity on plant
growth. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 13:295-312
• Eaton, F.M., Olmstead, W. R., and Taylor, O.C. 1971. Salt
injury to plants with special reference to cations versus
anions and ion activities. Plant and Soil. 35: Pp 533-547
• http://www.fao.org/docrep/r4082e/r4082e08.htm
• https://rngr.net/publications/ghs/saltinjury/at_download/f
ile