Alleviation of salt stress complications in plants by nanoparticles and the associated mechanisms: An overview

High salinity is a serious problem in agriculture, causing significant yield losses in crops every year by inflicting damage both through the osmotic effect reducing water uptake by plants, and excess ions entering into the transpiration stream causing cell injury. The application of various bioactive nanoparticles of particular shapes, sizes, and concentrations has been shown to give protection against salt stress in different crop plants, improving growth parameters, seed germination, root anatomy, yield, and biochemical profile. The molecular mechanisms behind this phenomenon are still unknown, but research has revealed that the application of nanoparticles can alter several gene expressions (including AREB, SOS2, and DDF2) associated with salt stress. Hence, this potential alternative strategy of salt stress management in agriculture by bioactive nanoparticles is receiving huge attention nowadays. Here we have reviewed the effective nanoparticles against salt stress in crops that have so far been investigated, their potential application in agriculture for better production and the major challenges associated with this. This review is intended to be a helpful insight into the mitigation of salt stress in crops through nanoparticle-mediated strategies and understanding the nanoparticle-salinity relations. Prospects of using nanoparticles to mitigate salt stress are also discussed here.