Question

The plants that grow on saline soils with a high concentration of $NaCl, MgSO_{4},$ and $MgCl_{2}$ are called
a) Succulents
b) Mesophytes
c) Xerophytes
d) Halophytes

Answer 1

Hint: Succulent is a specialized plant with modified plant parts. Mesophytes and xerophytes are correlated with water uptake by plants. Meso- refers to moderate or intermediate.

Complete answer:
A halophyte is a type of adaptation shown by plants.
A halophyte refers to a salt-tolerant plant. These plants can grow in highly saline soil or water. Some of the saline habitats of such plants include mangrove swamps, saline semi-desserts, seashores, sloughs, and marshes. Some examples of halophytes are Bermuda grass, cereals, sugar beets, cotton, grain sorghum, alfalfa, tall wheatgrass, and Harding grass.
Salt sensitive plants uptake water from saline soil and become water-stressed or the intake of salts causes an imbalance of nutrients with potassium and calcium. Whereas, halophytes are tolerant of high salt concentration by either avoiding the uptake of excess salt or by having a good mechanism to excrete excess salt through leaves. Some plants also become tolerant by storing excess salt in vacuoles of the cell.

Additional Information:
Electrical conductivity (EC) testing is a test to determine the salinity of a sample, as salts are good conductors of electricity. More salts the more are the electrical conduction. Soluble salt levels are expressed in millimhos per centimeter (mmhos/cm) or decisiemens per meter (dS/m). Soils with soluble salts >1.21mmhos/cm are considered as saline soils.
Saline water or soil has a high quantity of dissolved salts, which affects the overall pH of the soil to be less than 8.5. In such an environment only saline tolerant plants can grow, other normal plants that are sensitive to salts get injured thus affecting its yield.

Note:
Succulents are the plants with thick and juicy parts, which are used to store large amounts of water. Mesophytes are plants that uptake a moderate amount of water and xerophytes are the plants that uptake very little amount of water. Based on these different natures of plants, crop plants are chosen for their harvest in a particular area.