Harnessing Root‐Associated Microbiomes to Enhance Plant Resilience Under Salinity Stress

Summary Statement Soil salinization poses a major and escalating threat to global agriculture, and alfalfa, despite its nutritional and ecological value, remains highly susceptible to salt stress. Traditional solutions such as breeding, genetic engineering, and soil amendments have yielded only modest gains and often lack scalability. Growing evidence shows that alfalfa can enhance nutrient uptake and stress tolerance through interactions with its root‐associated microbiomes. Motivated by this emerging perspective, this Opinion synthesizes recent advances on how salt stress modulates plant‐microbe symbioses and argues that strategically fostering beneficial rhizosphere communities offers a promising route to improving alfalfa's performance under saline conditions. By outlining how microbiome‐informed strategies may strengthen nutrient‐use efficiency and environmental resilience, the article underscores a timely and impactful direction for enhancing alfalfa yield, quality, and sustainability in salt‐affected landscapes.