To identify the propagation mechanisms and the adaptive strategies of oat seedlings exposed to NaCl, NaHCO3 and Na2CO3 the main salts in the soils of the salt-alkali grasslands of the Songnen Plain of China, growth rates and physiological indices of oat seedlings were measured in plants grown in soils with different concentrations (48-144 mmol L-1) of the three salts. The results demonstrated that although oat seedlings survival rates were unaffected by NaCl stress, the tiller number, plant height, and shoot and root dry weights decreased with increasing salt concentration, in the order of Na2CO3＞NaHCO3＞NaCl. In addition, propagation mechanisms higher concentrations of Na+ accumulated in the shoots and roots of oat seedlings under Na2CO3 stress and NaHCO3 stress than in seedlings under NaCl stress. Reductions in concentrations of K+ were also greater under both Na2CO3 and NaHCO3 stress than NaCl, especially in the roots. Large amounts of Cl－ and proline were found to accumulate in oat seedlings, most likely as a strategy for maintaining osmotic and ionic homeostasis under NaCl stress.

Maize is an imperative crop around the globe, and it provides several essential nutrients to humans and animals. Environmental changes seriously affect growth and productivity. Drought stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses, reducing maize growth and yield and threatening global food security. For decades, breeders have been trying to improve maize's ability to counter the toxic effects of drought stress. Drought tolerance is controlled by many genes and it complicates molecular breeding. The use of conventional breeding methods limited the development of drought tolerance in maize because of the complex nature of this trait. Hence, maize breeders have shifted their focus towards improvement of drought tolerance in maize at molecular level. Different molecular tools like quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, genome-wide-association-studies (GWAS), transcriptome analysis, transcription factor (TFs) analysis, and CRISPR/Cas9 have played a vital role in gene’s identification and their use in molecular breeding. These genomic regions have been proven very effective, and more studies are being conducted to increase their efficiency; however, the improvement level is limited because of the complex genetic mechanism of drought tolerance. Different review articles have been published on this aspect; however, a comprehensive and updated overview of drought tolerance needs to be included. The current review highlights the role of diverse molecular techniques to improve drought tolerance in maize. This review article will enhance the interest of researchers working on the genetic improvement of maize.

In this paper, neutral salt NaCl and basic salt Na2CO3 were used to simulate salt stress and alkali stress respectively, and the effects of salt stress and alkali stress on seed germination and growth changes in natural saline-alkali soil were studied, in order to provide theoretical basis for making full use of plant resources and improving production efficiency. The fruit peel of Amorpha fruticosa contains a lot of lipids, which has a significant effect on seed germination. Under salt stress, removal of pericarp significantly increased germination rate, germination potential and germination index (P< 0.05), and significantly shortened germination time of seeds (p< 0.05), which accelerated the establishment of seedlings, reduced the stress time during germination, and advanced the transition from heterotrophic to autotrophic, accumulating more anions and organic solutes to adapt to salt stress. Therefore, when planting in neutral salt soil, it can be used to remove the peel for sowing to improve the planting effect. However, under alkali stress, the growth is inhibited by the absorption of a large amount of Na+ and high pH value, so it is not suitable for removing the peel for sowing. Different germination conditions had significant effects on seed germination. The length and biomass of radicle and germ in sand culture were significantly higher than those in paper culture (P< 0.05). Under the condition of sand culture, the concentration of the treatment solution can be well maintained, which is conducive to fixing the seedlings and reducing the interference of other mineral elements. Therefore, sand culture method is recommended for seed germination experiments under stress, especially for plants with developed roots.

Salinity stress is a serious constraint for crop productivity, and its extent is continuously across the globe. Therefore, it is direly necessary to develop appropriate measures to mitigate the toxic effects of salinity to meet rising food needs. The present study determined the impact of diverse concentrations of neutral salt (NaCl: 0, 200, 400 mM) and alkaline salt (Na₂CO₃: 0, 25, 50 mM) on the growth status, leaf traits, and clonal component characteristics of reed (Phragmites communis Trin.). The results indicated that increasing the intensity of salt and alkali stress markedly reduced growth (> 30%) and biomass production (> 35%). The impact of alkali stress was more significant as compared to salt stress, and it significantly decreased leaf area and dry matter production and increased the N concentration and N:P ratio. Further, stomata conductance and CO₂ concentration showed a decrease under stress conditions. While water use efficiency (WUE) also showed a decreasing trend under saline conditions, it first showed an increasing trend under alkali stress and then a decreasing trend. Further, plant tiller, rhizome, and seeds were markedly reduced by stresses. Moreover, the concentration of Na⁺ was increased under saline conditions while the concentration of K⁺ and NO₃^- showed a marked decrease, Na⁺/K⁺ showed a substantial increase. Therefore, salinity and alkaline stress can reduce the growth of reeds by disturbing plant physiological and biochemical functioning and nutrient homeostasis.

The oat (Avena sativa) is a kind of cereal grain, which has high saline-alkali tolerance. This experiment was carried out to investigate and compare the growth and physiological changes of oat seedling. Oat was grown under five concentrations of NaCl stress (48, 72, 96, 120 and 144 mmolL^-1). The results showed that NaCl stress had no effect on the survival rate and organic acids. With the increasing of the NaCl concentration, tiller number, the chlorophyll, K⁺, Ca²⁺, NO^3-, H²PO^4- contents, shoot length, the shoot biomass, and shoot water content were decreased significantly. However, the Cl^-, Na⁺, Na⁺/K⁺, SO₄^2- and proline contents were extremely increased. K⁺, Ca²⁺, dry weight, and water content of shoots changed greater than that of roots. While Na⁺ and Na⁺/K⁺ of shoots changed less than that of roots. When NaCl concentration was less than 96 mmolL^-1, the length, dry weight, and water content of roots had no significant changes. Based on this investigation, it can be concluded that oat seedlings accumulated more proline, Cl^- and SO₄^2- to maintaining osmotic and ion balance. In addition, NaCl stress had no significant effect on the growth of roots, and the roots can play the interceptive and protective role with a stronger salt tolerance. The roots can change the distribution of Na⁺, then it decreased the harm on the shoots and increased the tolerance of oat seedling.