Abstract Salicylic acid (SA) is an elicitor of abiotic stress tolerance in plants, but a comparative analysis of its effects across cereals remains under‐explored. This review article assesses the literature on the biological functioning of exogenous SA application (foliar‐ or root‐applied) in water‐stressed cereals. Research has examined exogenous SA applications as a strategy of growth improvement in water‐deficient environments mainly in wheat ( Triticum spp.), maize ( Zea mays L.), and rice ( Oryza sativa L.), as well as barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.). Exogenous SA applications in water‐deficient environments were examined in the literature mostly as foliar applications at a variety of application rates, with 0.50–2.0 mM appearing more often across all cereals. Among cereals, SA rates ranged from 0.50 to 1.50 mM in wheat and maize (85% and 86% of the studies, respectively), from 0.25 to 0.70 mM in rice (83% of the studies), and in the area of 0.50 mM in barley. Except for one study on wheat and one study on maize, the remaining studies noted that exogenous SA promoted cereal growth in water‐stressed environments in terms of biomass production. Improvement of cereal growth with exogenous SA was associated with (i) boosting the production of osmolytes, thus preserving water in plants, (ii) improving the enzymatic activity of antioxidant enzymes, thus maintaining intracellular redox homeostasis, and (iii) protecting chlorophyll, thus maintaining the photosynthetic capacity of water‐stressed plants. Bridging the gap between studies under controlled conditions and field applications is necessary for developing on‐farm applications as practical agronomic methods that will increase cereal production in a changing climate.
Damalas et al. (Sun,) studied this question.