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The extreme weather and the deteriorating water environment have exacerbated the crisis of freshwater resource insufficiency. Many studies have shown that salty water could replace freshwater to partly meet the water demand of plants. To study the effects of early-stage drought hardening and late-stage salt stress on tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.), we conducted a 2-year pot experiment. Based on the multi-objective demands of high yield, high quality, and water saving, yield indicators, quality indicators, and a water-saving indicator were selected as evaluation indicators. Three irrigation levels (W1: 85% field capacity (FC), W2: 70% FC, W3: 55% FC) and three salinity levels (S2: 2 g/L, S4: 4 g/L, S6: 6 g/L) were set as nine treatments. In addition, a control treatment (CK: W1, 0 g/L) was added. Each treatment was evaluated and scored by principal component analysis. The results for 2022 and 2023 found the highest scores for CK, W2S2, W3S2 and CK, W2S4, W2S2, respectively. Based on response surface methodology, we constructed composite models of multi-objective demands, whose results indicated that 66–72% FC and 2 g/L salinity were considered the appropriate water–salt combinations for practical production. This paper will be beneficial for maintaining high yield and high quality in tomato production using salty water irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought hardening could promote the development of plant roots, potentially improving the resistance of crops to other adversities. To investigate the response and resistance of physiological and growth characteristics induced by drought hardening to salt stress in the later stages, a greenhouse experiment was carried out from 2021 to 2022 with one blank control treatment and twelve treatments that comprised combinations of four irrigation regimes (W1 = 85%, W2 = 70%, W3 = 55%, and W4 = 40% of the field capacity) and three irrigation water salinity levels (S2, S4, and S6, referring to 2 g, 4 g, and 6 g of sodium chloride added to 1000 mL of tap water, respectively). The results show that saline water irrigation introduced a large amount of salt into the soil, resulting in the deterioration of tomato growth, physiology, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE), but had a positive, significant effect on fruit quality. When the irrigation water salinity was 2 g L−1, the W2 treatment could reduce soil salt accumulation, even at the end of the maturation stage; consequently, enhancing the increments in plant height and leaf area index during the whole growing stage. The physiological activity of tomato plants under the W2 and W3 treatments showed a promoting effect. Correspondingly, the maximum values of the fruit quality of tomato plants irrigated with the same saline water were all obtained with the W2 or W3 treatment. However, the yield and WUE of the W3 treatment were lower than that of the W2 treatment, which was the highest among the same saline water irrigation treatments, consistent with the reflection of the changing trend of the ratio of fresh weight to dry weight. Overall, drought hardening can be considered an economically viable approach to mitigate the hazards of saline water irrigation, and the W2S2 combination is recommended for tomato production due to the maximum values of yield and WUE with a higher fruit quality among the twelve saline water irrigation treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]