Skip to content
Log in
Sponsored Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Global Edition Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Global Edition

Similar papers

Review Open access Aug 2026

Harnesting Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria to Improve Soybean Agronomic Performance in Salinity Stressed Soils

Climate change has worsened soil salinity through rising temperatures, sea water intrusion, irregular rainfall patterns, and increased evapotranspiration, making salinity one of the major constraints in soybean cultivation worldwide. Salinity stress inhibits plant growth, disrupts nutrient uptake, reduces photosynthesis, induces oxidative stress, and ultimately decreases crop productivity. In addition, excessive salt accumulation deteriorates soil structure, suppresses beneficial microbial activity, and limits nutrient availability, thereby threatening soil health and sustainable agricultural production. Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) can be utilized as an environmentally friendly alternative approach to enhance plant tolerance to saline conditions while reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers and other external inputs. This review examines the extent to which beneficial rhizobacteria improve soybean growth and productivity under salinity stress conditions. The method employed was a systematic literature review combined with bibliometric analysis based on network visualization using VOSviewer. Literature sources were obtained from Scopus covering the period 2020–2026, with article selection conducted using inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in 22 relevant articles. The findings indicate that bacteria such as Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azospirillum brasilense, and several other halotolerant bacteria significantly improve soybean tolerance to salinity stress through phytohormone production, biological nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, regulation of Na⁺/K⁺ ion balance, osmoprotectant accumulation, exopolysaccharide production, and activation of antioxidant defense systems. Furthermore, PGPR substantially contribute to soil health by improving soil aggregation, enhancing microbial biodiversity, stimulating nutrient cycling, increasing soil enzyme activities, and improving nutrient-use efficiency in saline soils. Quantitatively, PGPR application has been reported to increase soybean growth and productivity by approximately 15–45% under saline conditions while reducing salt-induced physiological damage. These findings highlight the strong potential of PGPR as a sustainable long-term strategy for saline land management to restore soil health, strengthen climate resilience, and enhance soybean productivity.

M. Ikbal, F. Hibatullah, N. N. Kamaluddin et al. · 0 citations
Aug 2026

Effect of salinity levels on the nutritional water productivity of Cucumis myriocarpus as a leafy vegetable 

Soil salinization is a major abiotic stress that limits plant growth and development, posing a serious threat to global food security. It occurs due to the build-up of excess salt in the soil, mainly from improper irrigation, poor land management, and excessive fertilizer use. High levels of Na⁺ and Cl⁻ interfere with normal cellular functions and essential metabolic processes, resulting in poor growth, reduced productivity, and, in severe cases, plant death. Based on this, the study was conducted from 2024-25 to determine the responses of nutritional water productivity of selected nutrient elements in the drought-tolerant wild cucumber (Cucumis myriocarpus Naude) leafy vegetable to chloride salinity. Uniform seedlings at the five-leaf stage were each transplanted into 20-cm-diameter plastic pots containing 2,700 mL of steam-pasteurized river sand and Hygromix at a 3:1 (v/v) ratio. A geometric series of NaCl and CaCl₂ at a 3:1 mM ratio induced chloride salinity. At 56 days after treatment, NWP-Ca, NWP-Mg, NWP-P, NWP-Na, NWP-Fe, and NWP-Zn were significantly affected by salinity, with total treatment variation (TTV) of 79%, 78%, 73%, 79%, 55%, and 36%, respectively. However, the same treatments exhibited no significant effect on NWP-K, contributing 6% in TTV. NWP-Ca, NWP-Mg, NWP-P, NWP-Fe, NWP-Na, and NWP-Zn in relation to increasing chloride salinity demonstrated positive quadratic correlations, with models explaining 98%, 96%, 99%, 96%, 89%, and 99% of the variance, respectively. These findings indicate a strong relationship between the NWP of selected nutrient elements' uptake and chloride salinity levels, suggesting that increasing salinity enhances the availability of NWP of selected nutrient elements at lower concentrations while limiting it at high chloride salinity.

Tseke Pontsho Edmund · 0 citations
Open access Aug 2026

Effect of apple fermentation liquid on rice growth and stress responses in saline-alkali soil under pot conditions

Saline-alkali soil is a major constraint in agricultural production worldwide; environmentally sustainable amendment is being adopted. This study systematically investigated the effects of different concentrations of apple fermentation liquid (AFL). On rice growth under saline-alkali soil using a controlled greenhouse pot experiment. Rice plants were treated with four AFL dilutions (1:25, 1:50, 1:100 and 1:200, v/v), and the plant growth traits, development, physiological responses, biochemical characteristics, rhizosphere fungal community composition, and root transcriptome profiles were assessed. The results showed that: (1) AFL application significantly enhanced growth of rice, with the JS25 (1:25) treatment increasing plant height, stem and root length by 70.7%, 111.4% and 72.9% respectively, compared with the saline-alkali control. It also increased the antioxidant enzyme activities CAT (114.7%-232.2%) and SOD (52.5%-119.1%), and chlorophyll content (127.1%-189.6%), while indicating alleviation of saline-alkali stress by reducing proline accumulation (53.0%-74.9%); (2) High-throughput sequencing (ITS region) revealed that AFL treatment significantly altered the structure of rhizosphere fungal community, markedly increasing the relative abundance of genera such as Plectosphaerella, and Acremonium while changes in Fusarium abundance were interpreted cautiously due to its taxonomic diversity; (3) Transcriptome analysis showed that AFL treatment (JS100) induced large-scale gene expression reprograming in rice roots, including genes associated with ion transport, antioxidant defense, and stress signaling pathways. Because of the post-treatment soil physiochemical parameters and qRT-PCR validation were not conducted, the proposed mechanism should be considered exploratory and hypothesis generating. Overall, this study suggests that AFL treatment may enhance rice stress tolerance under saline-alkali conditions, as reflected in the observed physiochemical, fungal, and transcriptomic responses. However, due to the absence of post-treatment soil analysis and qRT-PCR validation, these findings should be considered exploratory and hypothesis-generating.

He Xu, Pan Qi, Ziyang Liu et al. · 0 citations
Open access Jul 2026

Efficiency of a novel endophytic fungus based biofertilizer in enhancing rice productivity and reducing the chemical fertilizer use in saline and non-saline coastal regions of Bangladesh

Enhanced soil salinity is a major constraint to rice production in the coastal regions of Bangladesh. Salinity stress impairs nutrient uptake and induces ionic toxicity and osmotic stress, while excessive use of chemical fertilizers degrades soil health and causes environmental pollution. A novel salt-tolerant endophytic fungus, Aspergillus welwitschiae Ocstreb1, isolated from the halophytic wild rice Oryza coarctata, exhibited multiple plant growth–promoting traits under both non-saline and 900 mM salt-stress conditions in vitro. These findings suggest that Ocstreb1-based biofertilizer could serve as an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to enhance rice productivity under saline conditions. In this experiment, the biofertilizer was prepared using fungal spores produced on wheat bran and subsequently mixed with talcum powder as a carrier. Field trials were conducted following a randomized complete block design (RCBD), incorporating different levels of chemical fertilizer application (0%, 80%, and 100% of the BRRI-recommended NPKSZn rates) in both biofertilizer-treated and untreated plants. Compared with the 100% chemical fertilizer treatment, the combined application of biofertilizer and 80% chemical fertilizer resulted in a comparable yield in Barguna and increased yield of 196.6 kg ha⁻¹ in Satkhira. Profitability analysis showed that this treatment provided an additional economic benefit of USD 48–68 ha⁻¹ over the 100% chemical fertilizer treatment. Moreover, fumonisin B1 levels in grains from biofertilizer-treated plants were negligible. In conclusion, commercial production of this biofertilizer will pave the way for enhancing rice yield with less use of chemical fertilizer while promoting sustainable agricultural practice particularly in areas affected by salinity stress.

Amit Chowdhury, J. Bhattacharya, Md. Iyasir Arafat et al. · 0 citations
Open access Jul 2026

Phyto-ameliorants for saline and solonetzic soils of the Black Sea Region

Soils subject to salinization occupy 18.2% of agricultural land in Russia (including Crimea). There is no information about the area of saline lands in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Russia for the period 20222024. In Kherson, 46.16% arable land was saline, and 20% in Zaporizhizhia. The phyto-remediation effect of green fertilizers includes their ability to accumulate humus and purify soil from harmful substances, including salinity. Green fertilizers are key resources for restoring soil fertility and adding organic matter to the soil. Different types of green fertilizer have different cultivation requirements depending on climate, soil type, and research goals. Their effectiveness lies in their ability to improve the structure of soil, increase the level of organic matter and enrich it with essential nutrients. Prolonged use of such fertilizers leads to positive changes in soil characteristics: the supply of nutrients increases, acidity decreases, calcium and other alkaline components increase, and parameters such as absorption capacity, buffering, moisture content and porosity increase. The classification of green fertilizers depends on their function in crop rotation, processing methods and use as nutrients. Green fertilizers can be classified according to their role in agriculture and their impact on soil conditions. For the saline soils in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, the following phytomeliorants have been proposed: mustard, amaranth, barley, and sweet clover. 

E. Stepanova · 0 citations
Open access 2026

Effect of Methylobacterium on the yield and quality of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea)

Abstract The soil used is sandy in texture, low in nutrients, and low in organic matter, and therefore has low cation exchange capacity. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of improving their physicochemical and biological properties by inoculating the roots with a solution of Methylobacterium and liquid compost in cauliflower cultivation, as well as integrating a treatment through an automated drip irrigation system. This biostimulant, biofertilizer, and biocontrol agent solution was used, which has applications in agriculture to improve soil health and crop productivity. The experiment was set up under a completely randomized block design with four treatments (T0, T1, T2, and T3), corresponding to doses of 0, 250, 333, and 400 mL per 200 L of water, respectively. The results indicated that treatment T3 significantly optimized the plant's physiological response to salt stress, increasing both its antioxidant capacity and chlorophyll α concentration. Likewise, physical characterization revealed significant differences in the morphological parameters of cauliflower, suggesting greater metabolic resistance and improved nutritional quality. Finally, ultrastructural analysis of the epidermis and stomata using microscopy showed that, while the control treatment (T0) had a collapsed surface, treatment T3 showed a functional and turgid ultrastructure. This demonstrates that the inoculation applied mitigates the phytotoxic impact of the substrate and optimizes the metabolic potential of the crop.

J. A. Legua Cárdenas, E. A. Macavilca Ticlayauri, M. T. Sánchez Calle et al. · 0 citations

We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads. See our Cookie Policy.