Moringa oleiferaLam.is a common edible plant, famous for several nutritional and therapeutic benefits. This study investigates the salt -induced modulations in plant growth, physio-biochemical responses, and antioxidant performance ofM. oleiferagrown under 0, 50, and 100 mM NaCl concentrations. Results showed that the plant effectively managed moderate salinity (50 mM NaCl) by maintaining succulence, weight ratios, and biomass allocation patterns of both shoot and root with minimal reduction in dry biomass. However, high salinity (100 mM NaCl) remarkably declined all growth parameters. The plant accumulated more Na⁺and Cl⁻, while less K⁺under salinity as compared to the control. Consequently, osmotic potentials of both root and leaf decreased under salinity, which was corroborated by the high amount of proline and soluble sugars. Increased level of H₂O₂with significantly unchanged membrane fluidity indicating its role in perceiving and managing stress at moderate salinity. In addition, increased activities of superoxide dismutase, and catalase, with increased glutathione and flavonoid contents suggest an integrated participation of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant components in regulating ROS. On the other hand, high salinity caused an outburst of ROS indicated by high H₂O₂, MDA, and electrolyte leakage. As a response, moringa drastically increased the activities of all antioxidant enzymes and contents of antioxidant molecules including ascorbic acid, glutathione, total phenols, and flavonoids with high radical scavenging and reducing power capacities. However, a considerable amount of energy was used in such management resulting in a significant growth reduction at 100 mM NaCl. This study suggests that moringa effectively resisted moderate salinity by modulating physio-biochemical attributes and effectively managing ion toxicity and oxidative stress. Salt stress also enhanced the medicinal potentials of moringa by increasing the contents of antioxidant compounds including ascorbic acid, glutathione, total phenols, and flavonoids and their resulting activities. It can be grown on degraded/ saline lands and biomass of this plant can be used for edible and medicinal purposes, besides providing other benefits in a global climate change scenario.

Secondary metabolites, such as phenolic compounds, play an important role in alleviating salinity-induced negative effects in plants. The present study focused on seed priming and foliar application of a potent phenolic compound, coumarin, to induce salinity tolerance inSorghum bicolorvar. SS-77. Based on pilot experiment, 100 mg L⁻¹concentration of coumarin was applied to mitigate the negative effects of salinity on Sorghum, grown at 0, 100, and 200 mM NaCl under netted greenhouse conditions. Coumarin was applied to each salinity treatment in four different ways (i) non-primed control (NP), (ii) seed priming (COP), (iii) foliar application (COF), and (iv) a combination of seed priming and foliar application (COPF). Salinity stress significantly reduced the plant growth, biochemical attributes, and photosynthetic efficiency of Sorghum, whereas coumarin treatments (COP, COF, and COPF) showed a significant increase (P< 0.01) in above-mentioned parameters at all salinities. Among all, the combined treatment (COPF) showed maximum increase in growth, biochemicals, photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzymes, and photosynthetic efficiency parameters. Therefore, it is suggested that a combination of seed priming and foliar spray of 10 mg L⁻¹coumarin is more suitable than their individual applications. It is an environment friendly and economically feasible approach that will be used to improve salinity tolerance of Sorghum and helpful to get considerable biomass from saline degraded lands to fulfill food, fodder, and energy demands of the ever-growing population.

Foliar application of essential minerals is considered as an economical approach to enhance growth and productivity of crop plants. This study aims to assess the individual and combined effects of potassium (KNO₃; K⁺= 4.5 Kg ha⁻¹) and boron (H₃BO₃; B³⁺ = 0.15 Kg ha⁻¹) on growth and yield of salt stressed Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. var. CIM 496). Plants were grown in lysimeters and irrigated with 0, 6 and 12 dS m⁻¹ sea salt solutions, for 12 weeks. Foliar application of K⁺, B³⁺ and K⁺+B³⁺ improved plant height and biomass under both non-saline and saline conditions. Foliar enrichment of minerals not only reduced sodium (Na⁺) entry but also enhanced K⁺ availability, hence maintained a favorable ion relation (K⁺/Na⁺) in photosynthetic tissues. Such regulations along with maintained succulence and production of organic osmolytes (e.g., sugars) helped plant in osmotic adjustment. Salt induced inhibition of reproductive growth was also significantly reverted by foliar application of K⁺, B³⁺ and K⁺+B³⁺. Number of cotton bolls, lint weight, number and weight of seeds and seed cotton yield were significantly improved by K⁺, B³⁺ and K⁺+B³⁺ application. Combined application (K⁺+B³⁺) showed maximum plant growth and productivity even at higher salinity (12 dS m⁻¹). This approach can be adopted to obtain a considerable crop yield from less productive soils using saline water irrigation and can provide profitable outcomes by converting vast degraded lands into lucrative resources.

Increased soluble salts in soil and irrigation water threaten the sustainability of crops. This causes food insecurity directly by reducing the staple crop yield and indirectly by limiting fodder and forage production. Recently, plant-growth-promoting rhizosphere microorganism utilization improved crop productivity under stress. Therefore, this research was conducted to find the Sorghum bicolor growth improvement potential by exogenous application of five different Pseudomonas strains under salinity in a pot experiment. The salinity was applied with a 1/2-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution as 0 and 100 mM NaCl for 30 days. Results indicated that salinity reduced the vegetative growth parameters and stress-responsive biochemicals in nonbacterial treated plants. However, Pseudomonas strains applied to plants exhibited notable increases in growth, relative water content, antioxidant enzyme activities, osmolytes, and photosynthetic pigments under salinity. The ionic imbalance was also reduced due to Pseudomonas strains by improving K⁺ and K⁺/Na⁺ ratios under salinity. P. aeruginosa strain SAHK (OQ194056) and P. putida strain AHK_SHA007 (OR468335) were found to be promising compared to other strains in increasing growth and stress tolerance. The augmentation of the plant's antioxidant system and maintenance of ion homeostasis by Pseudomonas strains served as a strategy to enhance the plant salt tolerance.