Wheat growth, development and yield are severely affected by a wide range of abiotic stresses, and salt stress is a vital and increasing abiotic stress. Salicylic acid (SA) is a phenolic phytohormone involved in plant physiological processes. Hence, we have conducted an experiment to explore the roles of exogenous SA in mitigating salt stress in two wheat genotypes. There were eight treatments comprising (i) control, (ii) 0.5 mM SA, (iii) 1.0 mM SA, (iv) 1.5 mM SA, (v) salinity (12 dS m⁻¹), (vi) salinity + 0.5 mM SA, (vii) salinity + 1.0 mM SA and (viii) salinity + 1.5 mM SA with two wheat genotypes viz G 200-4 and BARI gom-25. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with five replications. During the vegetative stage, salt stress significantly reduced the relative water content (RWC), photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and growth characteristics of both wheat genotypes, while the exogenous application of SA in salt-stressed plants significantly improved the RWC, gas exchange activities and growth performance of both the genotypes. The leaf chlorophyll content was also degraded due to salinity treatment, although it was mitigated by the exogenous application of SA. The imposition of salt significantly reduced the number of days required for maturity, yield-contributing characteristics and the yield of both the wheat genotypes. Salt stress also significantly increased Na⁺ concentrations and the Na⁺/K⁺ ratio, while the K⁺ concentrations was decreased significantly in both the wheat genotypes. However, the exogenous application of SA in salt-stressed plants significantly reduced the salt stress effects and increased the growth and yield of wheat genotypes by enhancing RWC, gas exchange activities and photosynthetic pigments and maintaining lower Na⁺ concentrations and a Na⁺/K⁺ ratio. Therefore, the findings of this study suggested that the exogenous application of SA improved the salt tolerance of both wheat genotypes.

Among the environmental constraints, the growth and yield of crops are seriously impaired by moisture stress. With this view, an experiment was conducted to observe genotypic differences in water relation, gas exchange characteristics and yield performance of mungbean under low soil moisture conditions. Experimental variables consisted of five drought tolerant genotypes (G88, G108, G141,varietiesG186), one susceptible genotype (G43) and two standard check variety (BU mug 5, Binnamoog-8) which assigned to two moisture regimes viz., water regime A ((80 to 90% field capacity (FC)) and water regime B (40 to 50% FC). Results showed that water saturation deficit, water uptake capacity and transpiration rate were the lowest in tolerant genotypes G88 followed by genotypes G141, while those were the highest in susceptible genotype G43 under low soil moisture conditions. Contrarily, the highest amount of relative water content and water retention capacity were found in tolerant genotypes G141, G108 and G88 and the lowest was recorded in susceptible genotype G43 under low soil moisture conditions. In the case of the photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, the tolerant genotype G141, G88 and G108 showed the higher values at moisture stress condition. The highest total chlorophyll content and proline content were also found in tolerant genotype G88 followed by G141 and G108, and the lowest was found in susceptible genotype G43 under moisture stress conditions. Irrespective of genotypes, moisture stress significantly decreased the yield attributes and yield of mungbean genotypes. However, the highest seed yield per plant (12.11 g) was found in tolerant genotype G88 under low soil moisture conditions because of its lowest reduction rate of yield attributes under moisture stress. Similar responses were also observed in tolerant genotypes G141 and G108. Therefore, the genotypes G88, G108 and G141 showed better performance in the case of water relation and gas exchange characteristics which might be contribute to higher yield of those genotypes.

Drought stress is a major abiotic factor limiting global crop productivity by disrupting cellular homeostasis, impairing photosynthesis, and restricting metabolic activity. Plant-associated microorganisms, including rhizobacteria, endophytes, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, play key roles in enhancing drought resilience through molecular, biochemical, and physiological mechanisms. These beneficial microbes modulate phytohormone biosynthesis, enhance osmolyte accumulation, increase organic acid exudation, and activate ROS-scavenging antioxidant pathways. Microbe-mediated regulation of aquaporins, heat shock proteins, and root system architecture further improves water-use efficiency, hydraulic conductance, and stress acclimation. Advances in microbial genomics and systems biology have revealed the molecular drivers of plant–microbe synergism, enabling the development of tailored microbial consortia and next-generation bioinoculants. Complementarily, genetic and genome-guided modulation of drought-responsive regulatory hubs including transcription factors (e.g., DREBs, NACs, MYBs, and bZIPs), signal transducers (e.g., MAPKs and CDPKs), and protective proteins enhances adaptive plasticity under water deficit conditions. This review integrates current molecular insights into drought-induced perturbations in plants and highlights the convergence of microbial interventions and genome-guided strategies in reinforcing drought tolerance. Emphasizing mechanistic frameworks, scalable microbial technologies, and molecular breeding approaches, this work underscores their potential to improve crop resilience in increasingly water-limited environments.