Plant growing under saline conditions exhibit a variety of biochemical and physiological responses and due to these salt-induced changes some biochemical and physiological conditions are responsible to acclimatise plants to saline environment.
This was discovered by Dr Ameer Khan a Ph.D. scholar of Dept of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in his Ph.D. thesis under the supervision of Professor Muhammad Ashraf, Dean Faculty of Sciences, UAF.
Ameer Khan said that the capacity of plants to scavenge free radicals in probably the most critical requirement. "In most cases, up-gegulation of antioxidant system, under saline conditions, is positively correlated with salt tolerance of plants", he added. Dr Ameer Khan urged the need to enhance the antioxidant capacity of plants through breeding, advanced molecular approaches or through short-gun approaches so that salt-affected soils could be utilised for maximum crop yields in general and wheat crop in particular.
He said that salt induced reduction in growth and yield can be ameliorated by the exogenous application particularly through the rooting medium. It induced the growth and yield occurred principally due to increase in the rate of photosynthesis. Dr Ameer Khan is the 550th Ph.D. scholar produced by the university.