It takes two: Reciprocal scion-rootstock relationships enable salt tolerance in 'Hass' avocado

Commercial avocado orchards typically consist of composite trees. Avocado is salt-sensitive, suffering from substantial growth and production depreciation when exposed to high sodium and chloride levels. Salt ions penetrate the roots and are subsequently transferred to the foliage. Hence, understanding distinct physiological responses of grafted avocado plant organs to salinity is of great interest. We compared the ion, metabolite and lipid profiles of leaves, roots and trunk drillings of mature 'Hass' scion grafted onto two different rootstocks during gradual exposure to salinity. We found that one rootstock, VC840, did not restrict the transport of irrigation solution components to the scion, leading to salt accumulation in the trunk and leaves. The other rootstock, VC152, functioned selectively, moderating the movement of toxic ions to the scion organs by accumulating them in the roots. The leaves of the scion grafted on the selective rootstock acquired the standard level of essential minerals without being exposed to excessive salt concentrations. However, this came with an energetic cost as the leaves transferred carbohydrates and storage lipids downward to the rootstock organs, which became a strong sink. We conclude that mutual scion–rootstock relationships enable marked tolerance to salt stress through selective ion transport and metabolic modifications.