A Review of Recent Advances and Future Directions in the Management of Salinity Stress in Finger Millet

Abstract

Salinity stress is a major environmental impediment affecting the growth and production of crops. Finger millet is an important cereal grown in many arid and semi-arid areas of the world characterized by erratic rainfall and scarcity of good-quality water. Finger millet salinity stress is caused by the accumulation of soluble salts due to irrigation without a proper drainage system, coupled with the underlying rocks having a high salt content, which leads to the salinization of arable land. This problem is projected to be exacerbated by climate change. The use of new and efficient strategies that provide stable salinity tolerance across a wide range of environments can guarantee sustainable production of finger millet in the future. In this review, we analyze the strategies that have been used for salinity stress management in finger millet production and discuss potential future directions toward the development of salt-tolerant finger millet varieties. This review also describes how advanced biotechnological tools are being used to develop salt-tolerant plants. The biotechnological techniques discussed in this review are simple to implement, have design flexibility, low cost, and highly efficient. This information provides insights into enhancing finger millet salinity tolerance and improving production.

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) improvement: Challenges and prospects—A review

“…Salinity stress threatens finger millet's resilience in arid and semi-arid regions, affecting its development throughout the growth cycle. At the seedling stage, salinity hinders germination, causing chlorosis, leaf scorching, delayed growth and stunted leaves in finger millet (Mbinda & Mukami, 2021;Mukami et al, 2020). At the vegetative stage, salinity inhibits root and shoot lengths, fresh and dry weights, leaf water potential and chlorophyll content of finger millet (Divya et al, 2022;Mukami et al, 2020;Satish et al, 2016).…”

“…Rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns increase salt accumulation, particularly in arid regions. Published data (Mbinda & Mukami, 2021;Mukami et al, 2020) indicated the detrimental effects of salinity on finger millet, but yield loss is not wellquantified. Developing salinity-tolerant finger millet varieties is the most feasible, low-cost and eco-friendly approach (Divya et al, 2022;Mbinda & Mukami, 2021).…”

“…Published data (Mbinda & Mukami, 2021;Mukami et al, 2020) indicated the detrimental effects of salinity on finger millet, but yield loss is not wellquantified. Developing salinity-tolerant finger millet varieties is the most feasible, low-cost and eco-friendly approach (Divya et al, 2022;Mbinda & Mukami, 2021). Use of fluorescent pseudomonad inoculants as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria is another approach for a sustainable and economical management of salinity stress in finger millet production.…”

Influence of Endophytic Microorganisms on Wheat Resistance

“…In the complex fight against the damaging effects of such abiotic factors as drought, salinity, low or high temperature, and stress associated with heavy metals, along with the traditional methods of using more resistant varieties of cultivated plants, the application of endophytic communities of microorganisms, which colonize plants and increase their ability to withstand various damaging effects, is becoming increasingly important [19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

“…В комплексной борьбе с повреждающим воздействием таких абиотических факторов как засуха, засоление, а также низкая или высокая температура, стресс, связанный с тяжелыми металлами, наряду с традиционными способами использования более устойчивых сортов культурных растений все большее значение приобретает применение эндофитов -сообществ микроорганизмов, колонизирующих растения и повышающих их способность противостоять различным повреждающим воздействиям [19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Показано, что эндофитные актиномицеты могут выполнять функции стимулирующих рост растений микроорганизмов за счет разнообразных механизмов воздействия [26][27][28].…”