Soil salinization processes have increased over the years and affect large parts of agricultural fields. The purpose of this review was to highlight the most important aspects regarding the potential effects of soil salinity on plants. In the current context of climate change, extreme weather and increased drought periods can lead to plant metabolic dysfunctionalities and accumulation of salt ions because of the increasing need for irrigation. The most important limiting factor, salinity, has a highly negative impact on plant growth independent of the appearance of either natural or anthropic status. The negative aspects include decreased leaf development rate, a low water level in all parts of the plant, reduced cell division and elongation, and low-intensity photosynthetic rate. Other negative aspects are directly related to stomata closure, reduced transpiration, low CO₂ level, and limitations on seed germination. However, there are also some positive aspects to the presence of salinity in soil. The field offers unlimited possibilities of research in order to activate pathways that help plants become resistant to salt stress. Several physiological parameters can benefit from low salt concentration (halopriming), such as germination, vigor, rapid seedling growth, and increased stomata number. Further studies should focus on both the positive and negative aspects of the increase in soil salinity.

Groundwater pollution is a threat to the environment and human health because it is an important source of drinking water. Groundwater is used to supply water to communities and pollution occurs when harmful substances and contaminants infiltrate into the groundwater. Through excessive use of fertilizers, agriculture is a major contributor to groundwater pollution. This study tests the impact of organic and mineral fertilization on the groundwater physiochemical parameters and explores the potential consequences of using manure as fertilizer on groundwater nitrate pollution. The experiment was carried out in Satu Mare County, Romania, where both organic (manure) and mineral fertilizers were applied to potato cultures to test their impact on 18 physiochemical parameters of groundwater quality. Basic Statistics, Nitrate Pollution Index (NPI), and Principal Components Analysis were used for emphasizing the impact of mineral and organic fertilization on groundwater quality and relationships between analyzed groundwater parameters. The results show that groundwater corresponding to the site where the higher dose of organic fertilization was applied is characterized by nitrate concentrations (64.92 mg/L) and pH values (6.3 pH units) beyond the allowed limits. Based on the calculated NPI (2.21), it falls within the significant pollution category. Two principal factors were identified as having an impact on groundwater quality: fertilizer type and administered dose, respectively.

Germination of the medicinal and aromatic plant basil raises interesting questions due to its no seed periodicity and dormancy demand, and the seed priming could help to assure the permanent needs for this herb. The study aimed to provide an adapted BBCH (Biologische Bundesanstalt Bundessortenamt and CHemical industry) scale for the germination secondary stages of sweet basil Ocimum basilicum L. (var. MVSt). A standardized germination test was performed with hydropriming, electric field, and magnetic field as priming methods to assess the changes in the secondary stages of germination. The time range for each basil secondary stage was recorded and added to the adapted BBCH, to highlight the daily secondary stage changes. All the seed priming methods increased the germination capacity with 2–3% compared with the control, with the highest value for electropriming. The seed priming methods studied improved the germination and changed the pattern of secondary stages in the BBCH scale. The germination energy was set to more than 90% in all primed seeds, with a maximum of 91.75% in the magnetic field. The time needed for 50% germination of seeds was set to 6.5 days and 90% germinated seeds were recorded after 11.7 days. The 09a BBCH lasted for 9 days in control and hydropriming, 10 days in electric field conditions and 7 days for magnetoprimed seeds.

Seed dormancy is a major impediment for the production of Salvia officinalis L. (sage) seedlings. This study aims to test seed priming methods to break the dormancy of sage seeds in controlled conditions. Seeds were subjected to four treatments respectively hydropriming, magneto-priming, electro-priming and control with no seed priming techniques. During germination development stage all parameters were registered according to BBCH (Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und CHemische Industrie) standardized scale. Daily assessments were made, germination indices were calculated, new germination secondary stages were observed and described, and daily range for each secondary stage were obtained. All priming methods had different effect on sage seeds. The hydropriming treatment was the most effective with 70% seeds germinated in 10 days. Sage seeds from magneto-priming determine more than 50% seeds to germinate in only 8 days. Control and electropriming treatment showed a similar value of seed germination, set around 64-65%. In control, electro- and hydropriming treatments are necessary 6 days for the achievement of more than 50% seed germination, while for magneto-priming are necessary 8 days. Hydropriming has the highest germination index, significantly higher than control and magneto-priming. During the germination, hydropriming shows a gradual transition of seeds from one BBCH sub-stage to another, while electro- and magneto-priming induce a heterogenous variation through the entire process. Overall, the hydropriming treatment registered better results of sage germination compared to the control treatment.