Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh-160 014, India.
Salinity is one of the severe problems in worldwide agricultural production. Soil salinity limits the productions of both forage and grain legumes. Adverse effects of salinity are mediated through detrimental effects on the rhizobium-legume interactions that lead to the establishment of the nitrogen fixing symbiosis. Salt stress inhibits the initial steps of the rhizobia -legume symbiosis. For improvement of nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation under saline environments, the answer lies in selecting and developing salt tolerant cultivars of legumes as well as rhizobium for effective symbiosis under salinity. This review focuses on the effect of salt stress on nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes and to suggest future lines for alleviation of salinity effects on these processes.
