APPROACHES FOR ENHANCING SALT TOLERANCE IN SEED SPICES

Abstract

India continues to be the world leader in production of seed spices that are used to impart flavor and aroma to the food products. Seed spice crops, extensively grown in arid and semiarid tracts, have to face the compounded impacts of salinity, water scarcity, and climate change. Seed spices are moderately sensitive to salt stress; excess salt concentrations in the root zone often debilitate crop growth resulting in moderate to heavy reductions in economic yield. Salt tolerance of a plant describes its capacity to endure salinity stress without appreciable reductions in plant growth and yield. An understanding of the physiological mechanisms, morphological traits, and genetic mechanisms that impart salt tolerance may help develop management practices to maximize crop output under saline conditions. This chapter describes several conventional and improved techniques for salinity management in seed spices. Beginning with the selection of salt-tolerant planting material, the role of different techniques such as seed priming, nutrient management, microbial inoculants, plant growth regulators, and bio-stimulants in mitigating the salt hazard is discussed. It is concluded that a well thought out ensemble of agronomic manipulations can help realize high seed spice yields in salty soils.