An Overview of Biostimulants’ Effects in Saline Soils

Abstract

The unsustainable use of natural resources and their overexploitation continue to be major threats to global agriculture development. This practice increases the abiotic stresses, resulting both in crop yield losses and soil degradation. Low productivity is often associated with salinized soil, which is caused by the toxic and osmotic effects of soluble salt accumulation and, consequently, lack of organic matter. Conversely, there is a need to improve the current crop productivity to meet the increasing food demands. Among the current methodologies proposed to increase plant resistance to abiotic stress, the utilization in crop production of plant biostimulants has been recently proposed. These are organic products mainly based on algae, microorganisms, fulvic and humic acids, proteins, and amino acids that improve physiological plant performance, leading to increased crop productivity. Among their positive benefits, the application of plant biostimulants can also reduce the usage of conventional chemical fertilizers. The aim of this work was to present the effects of different biostimulants on saline conditions. In particular, in this review, we report and critically discuss the most recent research dealing with the effects of the application of plant biostimulants both on crop growth and on plant salinity resistance.