Soil Salinity is a Serious Environmental Threat to Plant Diseases- A review

Abstract

The rise in sea level, which causes an increase in salinity in both surface and ground water systems, is among the resultant effects of global climate change. Soil salinity is one of the notable environmental factors contributing to infectious plant diseases. Stress due to soil salinity affects plant tolerance to biotic stress by attenuating their immunity to pathogens leading to prevention of defence genes expression, reduced antioxidant activity and weakening of defence signalling proteins. The pathogen virulence and pathogenicity as well as an enhancement of pathogen development and multiplication are all influenced by soil salinity. Restriction of water absorption, toxic ion build up in plant tissues, nutrient deficiency, hormonal and metabolic imbalance, oxidative stress as physiological effects of salt stress, significantly affect the degree and occurrence of plant diseases. Thus, level of soil salinity is directly proportional to the severity and incidence of plant diseases. Controlling the effect of salinity by improving salinity tolerance in plants and deployment of salinity control measures will provide a long lasting solution on its effect on plant diseases. This will also serve as an approach to plant economic disease control.