Understanding Salt Stress in Watermelon: Impacts on Plant Performance and Adaptive Solutions

Salinity stress, exacerbated by extreme weather patterns, significantly threatens global watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai] production. Watermelon, a moderately salt-sensitive crop, exhibits re-duced germination, stunted growth, and impaired fruit quality under saline conditions. As freshwater re-sources are receding and agriculture's dependency on irrigation leads to soil salinization, we need sustainable mitigation strategies for food security. Recent advances highlight the potential of using salt-tolerant rootstocks and breeding salt-resistant watermelon varieties as long-term genetic solutions for salinity. Conversely, agro-nomic interventions such as drip irrigation and soil amendments offer practical, short-term strategies to re-duce salt stress impact. Plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPM) have emerged as promising biological tools to enhance watermelon tolerance to salt stress. These beneficial microbes improve plant resilience by modu-lating root architecture, enhancing nutrient and water uptake, producing phytohormones, and reducing oxi-dative damage by activating antioxidant pathways. PGPM can manage osmotic adjustment by accumulating compatible solutes, establishing symbiotic relationships, and strengthening the plant's physiological and mo-lecular responses to salinity. This review is the first to highlight the complex relationship between soil salinity and watermelon production. It explores the various mitigation strategies, highlighting the potential of PGPM as eco-friendly bio-inoculants for sustainable watermelon management in salt-affected soils.