Abstract
The need for halophytes in saline agriculture is rising, as the increasing population seeks to feed itself with ever-decreasing soil sources and dwindling freshwater supplies. Two main steps are needed to establish sustainable halophyte farming: (i) the selection of an economically important and ecologically relevant halophyte and (ii) the development of good management practices for irrigation. The success of both steps will depend on the efforts of many actors in science, technology, environment, agronomy, industry and farming.
Crucial halophyte scientific missions are to work on the multiple uses of halophytes and their salt tolerance limits. Those investigations should also contribute to the understanding of salt mechanisms in halophytes.
In this chapter, we will show recent findings on the use of halophytes and their behavior under saline conditions, and discuss how the farmers, the industrials and consumers can benefit from such scientific knowledge to enhance the development of halophyte farming.
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Hamed, K.B., Magné, C., Abdelly, C. (2014). From Halophyte Research to Halophytes Farming. In: Khan, M.A., Böer, B., Öztürk, M., Al Abdessalaam, T.Z., Clüsener-Godt, M., Gul, B. (eds) Sabkha Ecosystems. Tasks for Vegetation Science, vol 47. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7411-7_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7411-7_9
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