Salt tolerant horticultural plants to save freshwater usage

Abstract: As freshwater becomes scarce worldwide due to climate change and population increases, there is an urgent need to develop innovative approaches to address the issue of reducing freshwater consumption. Selecting species with high ornamental value and salt tolerance for use as green hedges or bonsai in urban or coastal areas could be a strategic approach for promoting greening and maintaining water resource sustainability. Therefore, this review's first part focuses on identifying suitable species for seawater irrigation by understanding the adaptation mechanisms of halophytes, such as salt exclusion, salt secretion, osmotic adjustment, ionic homeostasis, and salt-tolerance-responsive genes. The second part involves the classification of different salt tolerance levels of species to select horticultural plants as potential candidates for use in saline, arid, and semi-arid regions, or seawater irrigation. Following that, the review examines successful cases to analyze the possibility of application, and subsequently, it concludes with an exploration of limitations, challenges, and opportunities.