Extremophiles in Saline Environment: Potential for Sustainable Agriculture

Soil salinity is a major issue world-wide degrading agriculture lands and disturbing soil biological process. Exerting adverse effects on seed germination, root system, nutrient acquisition plant physiology leads to drastic reduction in plant growth and soil productivity. The adverse effects of salt stress on soil microbial activity, diversity, and numbers have been studied extensively. The understanding of the adaptive properties of soil microbes makes it possible to use them in restoring abandoned salt affected lands. The salt-tolerant microorganisms are essential components of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Soil microbes are known to play important role in soil biochemical processes, nutrient cycling through their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, solubilize phosphate, or by enhancing decomposition of plant residues. Over the past decades, plant associated microorganisms have been utilized to enhance plant growth and resistance to versatile abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and temperature maintaining agricultural productivity under abiotic stresses. These stress tolerant microbes have a great biotechnological potential to improve soil productivity and plant health of saline soils under arid conditions.