AUTHOR=Chen Jun , Pang Xin 

TITLE=Phytohormones unlocking their potential role in tolerance of vegetable crops under drought and salinity stresses

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1121780

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1121780

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=Abiotic stresses are drastically reducing the productivity of vegetable crops globally. Among abiotic stresses, drought and salinity are more challenging constraints for the sustainable production of vegetables. A wide range of vegetables are facing dry and hot summer situations, poor water availability, and higher salinity are mainly due to irrigation with brackish water. During hot summer, vegetables are considered as higher water-dependent crops, requiring water for proper growth and yield. Drought and salinity impair the plant metabolism. The disruption in plant metabolism leads to reduction growth, developmental processes, and ultimately crop yield. Appropriate management measures are needed to cope with the adverse effects of drought and salinity. Different agronomic and molecular approaches contributed to improve tolerance. So, the present review significantly explores the impact of phytohormones on vegetable crops under drought and salinity stresses. Phytohormones (salicylic acid, melatonin, jasmonates, Brassinosteroids, ascorbic acid, and numerous others) can be sprayed for improvement of plant growth, yield, photosynthetic pigments by modulation of physiological and biochemical processes. In this manner, these phytohormones should be explored for sustainable production of fruits and vegetable crops growing under abiotic stress conditions.