Niazboo (Ocimum Basilicum) As Medicinal Plant Establishes Against Salinity and Sodicity

Abstract

Salinity stress negatively impacts agricultural yields throughout the world, affecting production, whether for subsistence or economic gain. At present, about 20% of the world’s cultivated land and approximately half of all irrigated land and 2.1% of the dry agriculture land is affected by salinity. Salinization is spreading more rapidly in irrigated lands because of inappropriate management of irrigation and drainage. Moreover, rain, cyclones and wind add NaCl to coastal agricultural lands. The rapid increase in the world’s population requires an expansion of crop areas to raise food production. Salinity imposes serious environmental problems that affect grassland cover and the availability of animal feed in arid and semiarid regions. Salt stress is one of the most serious limiting factors for crop growth and production in the arid regions. About 23% of the world’s cultivated lands is saline and 37% is sodic [1]. Considerable research work has been conducted on the effect of salinity on different growth characters of different crops worldwide [2-9].