Halophytes are naturally adapted in saline environments, where they benefit from the substantial amounts of salt in the growth media. The need for salt-tolerant crops increases as substantial percentages of cultivated land worldwide are affected by salinity. There are few protocols, guidelines, or trials for glasswort (Salicornia (L.) and Sarcocornia (Scott), belong to the Amaranthaceae) field cultivation. The high salt tolerance and content in bioactive compounds make glassworts one of the most important candidates for future use both for fresh and processed food, due to their functional and health properties. This review describes the glassworts respect to their biodiversity and the most important factors affecting propagation, salt tolerance traits, agro-techniques and yields, food uses and nutraceutical properties.

The problems associated with the salinization of soils and water bodies and the increasing competition for scarce freshwater resources are increasing. Current attempts to adapt to these conditions through sustainable agriculture involves searching for new highly salt-tolerant crops, and wild species that have potential as saline crops are particularly suitable. The common ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.) is an edible halophyte member of the Aizoaceae family, which switches from C3 photosynthesis to crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) when exposed to salinity or water stress. The aim of this review was to examine the potential of using the ice plant in both the wild and as a crop, and to describe its ecology and morphology, environmental and agronomic requirements, and physiology. The antioxidant properties and mineral composition of the ice plant are also beneficial to human health and have been extensively examined.

Efficient soil moisture monitoring is fundamental to precision agriculture, enabling improved irrigation management, enhanced crop productivity, and sustainable water use. This review comprehensively evaluates soil moisture sensing technologies, classifying them into invasive and non-invasive approaches. The underlying operating principles, strengths, and limitations, as well as documented practical applications, are critically discussed for each technology. Invasive methods, including dielectric sensors, matric potential devices, heat-pulse sensors, and microstructured optical fibres, offer high-resolution data but require careful installation and calibration to account for environmental and soil-specific variables such as texture, salinity, and temperature. Non-invasive technologies—such as microwave remote sensing, electromagnetic induction, and ground-penetrating radar—enable large-scale monitoring without disturbing the soil profile; however, they face challenges in terms of resolution, cost, and data interpretation. Key performance factors across all sensor types include installation methodology, environmental sensitivity, spatial representativeness, and integration with decision-support systems. The review also addresses recent innovations such as biodegradable and Micro–Electro–Mechanical Systems sensors, the incorporation of Internet of Things platforms, and the application of artificial intelligence for enhanced data analytics and sensor calibration. While sensor deployment has demonstrated tangible benefits for irrigation efficiency and yield improvement, widespread adoption remains constrained by technical, economic, and infrastructural barriers, particularly for smallholder farmers. The analysis concludes by identifying research gaps and recommending strategies to facilitate the broader uptake of soil moisture sensors, with a focus on cost reduction, calibration standardisation, and integration into climate-resilient agricultural frameworks.

Salinity stress limited the production in over 30% of irrigated crops and 7% of dryland agriculture worldwide. The objective was to evaluate the effects of NaCl-stress on the enzymatic activity in tomato. Two experiments were carried out in germination and early vegetative growth stages. The activity of proline and peroxidase of eight varieties (Missouri, Yaqui, Vita, Feroz, Rio Grande, Tropic, Ace, and Floradade) submitted to NaCl concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM de NaCl) and the semi-quantitative activity of 19 enzymes APY ZYM^® were measured under a completely randomized design with four replications. Data were analyzed using univariate-multivariate analysis of variance, Tukey’s HSD (p = 0.05), canonical discriminant and cluster analysis. The results showed significant differences between varieties and NaCl in proline content. Proline increased as the NaCl concentration increased. Peroxidase did no show significant differences. Eight enzymes were included within the model to properly classify the varieties and NaCl. In shoots, varieties and NaCl showed that enzymatic activity was higher in the order of alkaline-phosphatase > leucine arylamidase > acid phosphatase > naphthol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase > n-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase > β-galactosidase, while in roots was higher in the order of alkaline-phosphatase > naphthol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase > acid phosphatase > n-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase. Acid and alkali phosphatase, lipase, esterase, β-galactosidase, and trypsin can be a potential biomarker for NaCl-stress tolerance in tomato.

Ornamental containerized transplant production needs high doses of controlled release fertilizers (CFR), but it is known that there is an environmental risk caused by inadequate fertilization management. To the best of our knowledge, amino acid-(AaB) and seaweed extract-(SeB) based biostimulant application, in ornamental transplant production, is still poorly studied. Therefore, the aim of this work was to assess the hypothesis that, under reduced nutrient supply, SeB and AaB applications, via foliar spray, can promote quality and sustainability in the production of high-quality ornamental seedlings with a 90-day growing cycle. The CRF incorporated into the peat-growing medium was Osmocote Exact Mini in formulation N:P:K = 15 + 9 + 11 (3 months). Six treatments were compared in two economically important potted (0.3 L in volume) ornamentals: Abelia × grandiflora and Lantana camara: T1 = conventional full CRF dose: 4 gL⁻¹ per pot; T2 = limited CRF dose: 50% of T1; T3 = T2 + MC-Extra^® [SeB 0.5 gL⁻¹]; T4 = T2 + MC-Extra^® [SeB 1.0 gL⁻¹]; T5 = T2 + Megafol^® [AaB 1.5 mL L⁻¹]; T6 = T2 + Megafol^® [AaB 2.5 mL L⁻¹]. The research results showed that the application of 50% CRF plus biostimulant application resulted in plant performance greater than or equal to those raised under the conventional CRF full dose. In particular, S1 (Abelia × grandiflora ‘Edward Goucher’) and S2 (Lantana camara ‘Little Lucky’) behaved differently concerning the Megafol^® dose under 50% CRF; compared to T1, in A. × grandiflora young transplants, T5 increased root morphological characteristics, as well as number of leaves, leaf area, and dry biomass accumulation; in L. camara, T6 achieved higher performance. The application of biostimulants under 50% CRF also improved, in both A. × grandiflora and L. camara, the physiological and agronomical Nitrogen Use Efficiency, compared to a full CRF dose. This study can support decision-making in terms of agronomic technique choices in line with the sustainable development of high-quality ornamental transplant production.

Sustainable plant production practices have been implemented to reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers and other agrochemicals. One way to reduce fertilizer use without negatively impacting plant nutrition is to enhance crop uptake of nutrients with biostimulants. As the effectiveness of a biostimulant can depend on the origin, species, dose, and application method, the aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of a commercial animal-based protein hydrolysate (PH) biostimulant on the visual quality, biomass, macronutrient content, root morphology, and leaf gas exchange of a petunia (Petunia × hybrida Hort. “red”) under preharvest conditions. Two treatments were compared: (a) three doses of an animal-based PH biostimulant: 0 (D0 = control), 0.1 (D0.1 = normal), and 0.2 g L^–1 (D0.2 = high); (b) two biostimulant application methods: foliar spray and root drenching. The dose × method interaction effect of PH biostimulant on the plants was significant in terms of quality grade and fresh and dry biomass. The high dose applied as foliar spray produced petunias with extra-grade visual quality (number of flowers per plant 161, number of leaves per plant 450, and leaf area per plant 1,487 cm²) and a total aboveground dry weight of 35 g, shoots (+91%), flowers (+230%), and leaf fresh weight (+71%). P and K contents were higher than in untreated petunias, when plants were grown with D0.2 and foliar spray. With foliar spray at the two doses, SPAD showed a linear increase (+21.6 and +41.0%) with respect to untreated plants. The dose × method interaction effect of biostimulant application was significant for root length, projected and total root surface area, and number of root tips, forks, and crossings. Concerning leaf gas exchange parameters, applying the biostimulant at both doses as foliar spray resulted in a significant improvement in net photosynthesis (D0.1: 22.9 μmol CO₂ m^–2 s^–1 and D0.2: 22.4 μmol CO₂ m^–2 s^–1) and stomatal conductance (D0.1: 0.42 mmol H₂O m^–2 s^–1 and D0.2: 0.39 mmol H₂O m^–2 s^–1) compared to control. These results indicate that application of PH biostimulant at 0.2 g L^–1 as foliar spray helped to achieve extra-grade plants and that this practice can be exploited in sustainable greenhouse conditions for commercial production of petunia.