Adaptation strategies for salinity stress in Maize: An overview on exogenous chemical and phyto-microbiome approaches

Abstract

Global warming is the leading cause of soil salinity, which affects the productivity of various crops, including maize. Soil salinity disrupts various physiological and biochemical processes in maize, including photosynthesis, water relations, respiration, stomatal regulation, and biosynthesis of enzymes. Improved performance of maize in saline soils may result from knowledge of the resistance to salt stress and an overview of the management options. Several approaches, alone or in combination have aided in the reduction of the negative effects of salinity by increasing salt tolerance in maize. Exogenous compounds, such as osmoprotectants (OP), polyamines (PA), nitric oxide (NO), and phytohormones, are thought to be the most promising and effective against environmental stresses, and they play critical roles in increasing maize resistance to salt stress. Furthermore, the use of microbes, which have been shown to be capable of reducing abiotic stresses, is a novel and promising method, and the plant microbiome has the ability to promote development and protect the host via a variety of molecular pathways. This chapter provides an overview of the exogenous application of several compounds and phyto-microbiomes that mitigate the negative effects of salt stress on maize.