Phytohormones-Assisted Management of Salinity Impacts in Plants

The salinity of soils has been significantly limiting crop production in most arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Plant hormones (phytohormones), small molecules with versatile roles in plants can be a sustainable approach for minimizing the major salinity-impacts in plants. Most phytohormones are reported to regulate various signaling cascades interrelated with plant development and stress-resilience and -coping mechanisms. In addition to regulating photosynthesis and related variables, phytohormones also modulate nutrient homeostasis, source-sink capacity, osmoregulation, and antioxidant defense systems in plants under abiotic stresses including soil salinity. Molecular studies have confirmed the coordination between phytohormones and signaling networks, which in turn also maintains ionic homeostasis and plant-salinity tolerance. This chapter aims to appraise the literature available on the role of 10 well-characterized stress response hormones (abscisic acid, ABA; ethylene; salicylic acid, SA; jasmonic acid, JA; and nitric oxide, NO) and also other growth-promoting hormones (such as auxins, gibberellins, GA; cytokinins, CKs; brassinosteroids, BRs; and strigolactones, SLs) in the management of salinity impacts in plants. The discussion outcomes may help in devising and furthering the strategies aimed at sustainably strengthening plant-salinity tolerance.