Salt-Tolerant Crops: Time to Deliver

Despite the numerous advances made in our understanding of the physiology and molecular genetics of salinity tolerance, there have been relatively few applications of these to improve the salt tolerance of crops. The most significant advances have historically utilized intraspecific variation, introgression of traits from close crop wild relatives, or, less frequently, introgression from more distant relatives. Advanced lines often fail due to difficulties in the introgression or tracking of traits or due to yield penalties associated with the alleles in nonsaline environments. However, the greatest limitation is that salinity is not a primary trait for breeders. We must close the gap between research and delivery, especially for farmers who have precious few alternatives. These efforts should include a reassessment of old techniques such as grafting current crops with salt-tolerant hybrid rootstocks. Alternatively, future crops can be produced via domestication of salt-tolerant wild species-an approach that is now feasible in our lifetime.

Automated summary

Despite significant advances in understanding salinity tolerance, the application to improve salt tolerance in crops remains limited. Intraspecific and distant relatives' traits introgression have been utilized, but difficulties in introgression and yield penalties still hinder progress. The main limitation is that salinity tolerance is not a primary trait for breeders. Efforts are needed to bridge the gap between research and practical application, such as reassessing old techniques and exploring domestication of salt-tolerant wild species.