Plant Responses and Adaptation to Irrigation with Non-Conventional Water: From Physiological Mechanisms to Sustainable Productivity

Dear Colleagues,

The utilization of non-conventional water resources (such as reclaimed water and saline water) in agricultural irrigation is a crucial approach that can help mitigate global water scarcity. However, non-conventional water sources often contain elevated levels of salts, specific ions, heavy metals, and emerging contaminants, creating unique “multiple stress” scenarios for plants. The choices of irrigation method (e.g., drip, micro-sprinkler, furrow) and water-saving irrigation technologies significantly influence water and solute distribution in the root zone, thereby modulating the patterns and intensity of environmental stress. Therefore, exploring strategies for blending or alternating the use of different non-conventional water sources (e.g., saline water and reclaimed water) has become essential. Combining these methods with optimized water-saving irrigation scheduling, as well as agronomic, chemical, or biological management practices, forms a key approach to alleviating negative stress and unlocking plants' resilience potential.

From the perspective of plant science, this Special Issue aims to elucidate how plants respond and adapt to multiple stresses under non-conventional water irrigation, spanning physiological, biochemical, molecular, and ecological mechanisms. Our scope includes the regulation of reactive oxygen species metabolism and the antioxidant defense system, the synthesis of osmoregulatory substances, the sequestration and detoxification of harmful ions, and the synergistic effects of enhancing plant tolerance through optimized water blending, improved irrigation techniques, and external management measures. We aim to provide a theoretical basis for establishing efficient and safe utilization strategies for non-conventional water based on plant physiological feedback, thereby enhancing the water use efficiency, resilience, and sustainable productivity of agricultural systems.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and methodological papers covering topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• Physiological and molecular response networks of plants under combined stresses (e.g., salinity, pollutants) in non-conventional water irrigation, with a focus on oxidative stress signaling and repair mechanisms.
• Selective mechanisms of plant roots in regulating the uptake and transport of water and solutes (e.g., Na⁺, Cl⁻, heavy metals).
• Effects of blended utilization patterns of different non-conventional water sources (e.g., saline/reclaimed water mixing, alternate irrigation) on plant antioxidant capacity, osmoregulation, and photosynthesis.
• Roles of exogenous management measures (e.g., application of plant growth regulators, silicon, selenium, organic amendments, nanomaterials, or inoculation with beneficial microorganisms) in alleviating non-conventional water stress and enhancing plant antioxidant defense and ion homeostasis.
• Impacts of non-conventional water irrigation and its management measures on plant growth and nutrient utilization, as well as yield and quality.
• Functions of the plant microbiome (especially rhizosphere microorganisms) in enhancing plant salt tolerance and stress resistance, and its interaction with irrigation water quality.
• Genetic bases and adaptive differences among different species/genotypes in response to non-conventional water irrigation and management measures.
• Regulatory mechanisms of precision irrigation technologies (e.g., drip irrigation) on rhizosphere salt/pollutant distribution and plant stress responses under non-conventional water use.
• Differences in plant oxidative stress, ion homeostasis, and photosynthetic responses induced by non-conventional water in different irrigation methods (e.g., drip, micro-sprinkler, furrow irrigation).

Dr. Chuncheng Liu
Dr. Bingjian Cui
Dr. Juan Wang
Dr. Qibiao Han
Guest Editors

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