Benefits and limitations in breeding salt-tolerant crops
Authors
Michael C. ShannonCalvin O. Qualset
Authors Affiliations
Michael C. Shannon is Research Geneticist, U.S. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside; Calvin O. Qualset is Professor, Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis.Publication Information
Hilgardia 38(10):33-34. DOI:10.3733/ca.v038n10p33. October 1984.
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Abstract
Not available – first paragraph follows:
Some crops, such as cotton, barley, safflower, or sugarbeet, can be grown in relatively saline soils; others, including beans and corn, can be grown only in nonsaline soils. It is intriguing to speculate that a sensitive crop plant might be genetically altered to withstand high salinities. Breeders have considered this approach for many years, but research along these lines has been neglected in favor of other problems. Instead, management options have been used to alleviate saline conditions and, during reclamation of salt-affected soils, farmers have limited their choice of crops to the more tolerant species.
Also in this issue:
A vital resource in dangerHistorical perspective on salinity and drainage problems in California
The lower Colorado — a salty river
Status of soil salinity in California
Transport of salts by water
Effect of salt on soils
Case history: Salton Basin
Case history: San Joaquin Valley
Mechanisms of salt tolerance in plants
Crop tolerance
Metabolic energy cost for plant cells exposed to salinity
Effects of salinity stress on the development of Phytophthora root rots
Effects of salt on cell membranes of germinating seeds
Halophytes as a rangeland resource
Contrasting salinity responses of two halophytes
Salt tolerance of mesquite
Management alternatives: Crop, water, and soil
Reclamation and regeneration of boron in high-boron soils
Genetic engineering of salinity-tolerant plants
Salinity, photosynthesis, and leaf growth
Effects of increasing drainage in the San Joaquin Valley
Use of saline water for irrigation
Groundwater problems from a legal perspective
Economics of salinity management
Issues and options
Drainage by wells — an investigation in the Patterson Water District