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Horticulturae
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Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Horticultural Crops to Saline Stress
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Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Horticultural Crops to Saline Stress

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Biotic and Abiotic Stress".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 1437

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yihua Zhan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Interests: plant science; salt stress lipid
Dr. Hongmei Du

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: abiotic stress; ornamental plant physiology and molecular biology; hydrogen biology; floriculture; germplasm preservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil salinization seriously inhibits the growth and development of plants, resulting in substantial losses in horticultural crop yields worldwide. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanism of plants in response to saline stress and improving stress resistance are essential for agricultural production and environmental sustainability. Plants have adapted multiple responses to saline stress, including the expression of stress-response genes, ROS homeostasis, and the production of secondary metabolites.

The purpose of this Special Issue, “Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Horticultural Crops to Saline Stress”, is to present original research and review manuscripts focused on horticultural crops’ adaptation mechanisms to saline stress at the molecular, cellular, tissue, morphological, and physiological levels and propose novel solutions to increase the adaptability of the plants to saline stress.

Dr. Yihua Zhan
Dr. Hongmei Du
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • salt stress
  • abiotic stress
  • stress
  • molecular mechanism
  • adaptability

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 6158 KiB  
Article
Impact of Salinity on Sugar Composition and Partitioning in Relation to Flower Fertility in Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum chilense
by Servane Bigot, Juan Pablo Martínez, Stanley Lutts and Muriel Quinet
Horticulturae 2025, 11(3), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11030285 - 6 Mar 2025
Viewed by 160
Abstract
Salinity negatively affects flower production and fertility in tomato but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. One hypothesis is that salinity affects sugar partitioning by reducing photosynthesis, which in turn affects source–sink relationships and hence the development of reproductive structures. This study [...] Read more.
Salinity negatively affects flower production and fertility in tomato but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. One hypothesis is that salinity affects sugar partitioning by reducing photosynthesis, which in turn affects source–sink relationships and hence the development of reproductive structures. This study investigates how salt stress alters sugar composition in leaves, flowers, and phloem sap of Solanum lycopersicum and its halophyte relative Solanum chilense, and how this may explain the effects on flower production and fertility. Salt stress increased flower abortion and reduced sepal length in S. lycopersicum, while decreasing pollen grain number in S. chilense. Photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency was also reduced in S. lycopersicum. Salinity raised myo-inositol and sucrose concentrations in S. lycopersicum leaves but only slightly altered sugar concentrations in flowers. The concentration of sucrose in the foliar exudates was higher in S. chilense as compared to S. lycopersicum, suggesting a higher export of sucrose from the leaves. These findings suggest that S. lycopersicum maintains better metabolic function under salt stress, while S. chilense sustains sugar import to sink organs. Correlations between reproductive traits and sugar dynamics indicate that sugar distribution contributes to reproductive development under salinity stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Horticultural Crops to Saline Stress)
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15 pages, 1317 KiB  
Article
Feasibility of Nano-Urea and PGPR on Salt Stress Amelioration in Reshmi Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor): Stress Markers and Enzymatic Response
by Mohssen Elbagory, Faizah Amer Altihani, Sahar El-Nahrawy, Moustafa Shalaby, Alaa El-Dein Omara, Jogendra Singh, Željko Andabaka and Ivan Širić
Horticulturae 2025, 11(3), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11030280 - 5 Mar 2025
Viewed by 157
Abstract
The present experiment aimed to examine the impact of nano urea (NU) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on Reshmi amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) growth under salt stress. Experiments were conducted using six different combinations of NaCl, NU, and PGPR for 35 days [...] Read more.
The present experiment aimed to examine the impact of nano urea (NU) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on Reshmi amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) growth under salt stress. Experiments were conducted using six different combinations of NaCl, NU, and PGPR for 35 days under greenhouse conditions. The results showed that salinity stress significantly (p < 0.05) reduced plant growth parameters, including shoot height, root length, fresh weight, and leaf area. However, the application of NU and PGPR, both individually and in combination, enhanced plant growth and physiological resilience under saline conditions. The NU + PGPR treatment yielded the best improvements, with a shoot height of 42.25 cm, root length of 34.79 cm, and fresh weight of 61.69 g, indicating a synergistic effect. Biochemical analysis showed that NaCl stress lowered chlorophyll (0.25 mg/g fwt.) and carotenoids (60.17 µg/100 g) and disrupted ionic homeostasis by increasing Na⁺ accumulation while reducing K+ and Ca2+ uptake. The combined NU and PGPR treatment restored ionic balance, with Na⁺ reduced to 58.12 mg and K⁺ and Ca2+ levels increasing to 115.25 mg and 78.70 mg, respectively. Stress markers such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline also showed significant reductions, while antioxidant enzyme activities stabilized under NU and PGPR application. Thus, this study indicated that NU and PGPR mitigate salt-induced stress by improving nutrient assimilation, promoting osmotic regulation, and enhancing antioxidative defenses in Reshmi amaranth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Horticultural Crops to Saline Stress)
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18 pages, 6423 KiB  
Article
Salt Stress and Tomato Resilience: From Somatic to Intergenerational Priming Memory
by Ilaria Borromeo, Maddalena Del Gallo and Cinzia Forni
Horticulturae 2025, 11(3), 236; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11030236 - 23 Feb 2025
Viewed by 220
Abstract
To ameliorate plants’ response to environmental stresses, seed priming can be a useful tool; it consists of the pre-exposure of the seeds to mild stress, which improves plant adaptation to future exposure to adverse growth conditions. In our previous studies, seed priming with [...] Read more.
To ameliorate plants’ response to environmental stresses, seed priming can be a useful tool; it consists of the pre-exposure of the seeds to mild stress, which improves plant adaptation to future exposure to adverse growth conditions. In our previous studies, seed priming with polyamines (2.5 mM putrescine, 2.5 mM spermine, and 2.5 mM spermidine) and salt acclimation have been proven to be an effective treatment in enhancing salt tolerance of tomato cultivars since they induced a better physiological response to salt stressful condition. The persistence of the memory of the first (priming) stress and retrieval of such remembered information upon exposure to later new stress play an important role in the applicability of seed priming in agriculture. Therefore, the aim of this work was the detection of the persistence of a stress memory induced by polyamine priming in tomatoes. Primed and not-primed seeds were stored at +4 °C for 2 years after the original priming treatment; then, germinated seeds were sown in non-saline soil and irrigated with 80 and 160 mM NaCl salt solutions until fruit production. The results confirm the increase in salt tolerance in primed plants compared to not-primed ones, indicating the presence of long-term somatic memory. In comparison with not primed, the primed plants produced better quality fruits, i.e., higher weight, water content, and higher amount of carotenoids, soluble sugars, and phenols. To determine if the memory can be inherited by the offspring, seeds were then collected from primed and not-primed plants (generation G1), and further experiments were undertaken by growing G1 plants under the same irrigation regime as the parental generation. After 45 days of growth, both antioxidants and osmolyte amounts were enhanced, leading to an improvement in the tolerance to saline conditions in the offspring of primed plants and confirming the results already observed in the parental generation. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of both long-term somatic and intergenerational priming memory in tomatoes and may pave the pathway to future agricultural application of seed priming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Horticultural Crops to Saline Stress)
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21 pages, 4662 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome and Physiological Characterization Reveal the Effects of Exogenous MeJA on Turnips Under Salt Stress
by Chenyang Ma, Zhe Tao, Xingling Yang, Ruiqing Xiao and Kai Jia
Horticulturae 2025, 11(2), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11020197 - 13 Feb 2025
Viewed by 434
Abstract
Salt stress severely affects the growth of turnips (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa), leading to a decline in quality and a reduction in yield. Methyl jasmonate is an endogenous plant hormone that plays a role in regulating plant responses to salt stress. [...] Read more.
Salt stress severely affects the growth of turnips (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa), leading to a decline in quality and a reduction in yield. Methyl jasmonate is an endogenous plant hormone that plays a role in regulating plant responses to salt stress. However, its role and mechanism in regulating the response of turnip salt stress remain unclear. Herein, exogenous 100 μM MeJA was applied to four-leaf turnip seedlings subjected to 100 mM NaCl stress to investigate the changes in growth parameters, plant physiology, gene expression, and hormone accumulation after treatment for 3, 5, and 7 days. The results indicated that exogenous spraying of MeJA restricted the growth of turnip seedlings, but enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), while reducing the generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Additionally, RNA-seq data showed that exogenous MeJA significantly up-regulates the expression of genes associated with resistance to abiotic stress, specifically those involved in sulfur metabolism, phytohormone signaling, glutathione metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. This up-regulation improved the activity of antioxidant enzymes in vivo, facilitated the scavenging of accumulated reactive oxygen species, and strengthened the plant’s defense mechanisms. In summary, exogenous application of MeJA inhibited the growth of turnip seedlings, but enhanced the plant’s physiological responses to salt stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Horticultural Crops to Saline Stress)
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