Seed Priming as an Effective Technique for Enhancing Salinity Tolerance in Plants: Mechanistic Insights and Prospects for Saline Agriculture with a Special Emphasis on Halophytes

Seed priming is a simple, inexpensive, and effective pre-sowing technique that enables plants to better tolerate abiotic stresses, including high soil salinity, which is a major limiting factor in the establishment of halophytes for saline agriculture, as germinating seeds and early seedlings of many halophytes are sensitive compared to the mature vegetative stage. This article attempts to provide an overview of the research on the seed priming effects on halophyte seeds and subsequent seedlings/plants. Different physio-chemical and molecular processes, including the induction of priming/stress memory, which enhance salinity tolerance following seed priming, have also been discussed. This review also covers the aspects of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and nitric oxide (NO) signaling(s) that are activated as a result of seed priming. Finally, the limitations and prospects of seed priming to enhance the agronomic potential of halophytes for saline agriculture have been discussed.