Potential utilisation of halophytes for the rehabilitation and valorisation of salt-affected areas in Tunisia

In arid and semi-arid regions, irrigation water contributes to salinisation of the upper layer of the soil, where most root activity takes place. Along the path of plant domestication, many crop species have lost resistance mechanisms to various stress conditions [1], including salt stress [2]. Thus, most crop plants do not fully express their original genetic potential for growth, development and yield under salt stress, and their economic value declines as salinity levels increase [3, 4]. Improving salt resistance of crop plants is, therefore, of major concern in agricultural research. A potential genetic resource for the improvement of salt resistance in crop plants resides among wild populations of halophytes [5, 6]. These can be either domesticated into new, salt-resistant crops, or used as a source of genes to be introduced into crop species by classical breeding or molecular methods.