Rhizospheric and Endophytic Microorganisms and Their Role in Alleviation of Salinity Stress in Plants

The acreage under salinity is increasing, and the stress thus generated in the plants causes severe damage to the quality and quantity of the produce. Salinity stress also increases the susceptibility of the plants against pests and diseases. Since the requirement to feed billions of mouths is ever-increasing, shortening of the arable lands is not desirable. Thus, measures to improve plant’s tolerance and performance under saline soils could be of great practical significance in crop production. The plant breeding approach for developing salinity-tolerant line has limitations for developing alternatives of the commercial cultivars. The microbial agents hold greater promise and suitability to be used as stress alleviator for wide varieties of crops and their commercial cultivars. This chapter summarizes the interaction of rhizosphere and endophytic microorganisms with plants and their role in improving salt tolerance. Various aspects of plant tolerance are discussed in this chapter that are proven to be enhanced by microbial agents such as nutrient uptake, ion homeostasis, reduction in reactive oxygen species by various antioxidants, membrane integrity, ACC deaminase production, and maintaining the osmotic balance of the plant cells. Exploring and characterizing such potential microbes could be useful tool in developing smart package and practices for increasing agricultural production.