Crop improvement and production strategies in arid environments: Salt, drought and heat stress

Environmental stress limits crop production and quality in and zones due mainly to low osmotic potential caused by water and salinity stress or by ion toxicity. Optimization of crop production and quality for a given environment depends on our ability to control and regulate three major factors: 1. Soil environment with regard to water, minerals and aeration; 2. Above ground environment with regard to leaf area index and light regime; 3. Reproductive to vegetative ratio and thereby crop load. The following topics are discussed: a. Comprehensive use of micro irrigation and fertigation based on soil and plant water potential and mineral content measurements and analyses; b. Physiological effects of microirrigation on root growth, plant growth regulators and crop production; c. Effect of crop load on fruit production and quality; d. Cultural practices for crop production and quality under saline conditions. It was concluded that exploring physiological mechanisms enables utilization of recent advanced technologies for optimizing fruit production and quality under diverse environmental conditions.