THE UNITED STATES IS THE TOP PRODUCER OF STRAWBERRIES IN THE WORLD, ACCOUNTING FOR NEARLY A THIRD OF TOTAL STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION.HOWEVER, THE LOSS OF PRODUCTION DUE TO ABIOTIC STRESSORSRESULTS IN THE LOSS OF MILLIONS OF US DOLLARS ANNUALLY TO GROWERS.SOIL SALINITY LEVELS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST THREATS TO AGRICULTURE WORLDWIDE AND IS A MAJOR ESCALATING FACTOR DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.CULTIVATED LAND HAS BEEN GREATLY ALTERED OVER RECENT YEARS AND CONSEQUENTLY HAS REDUCED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN CERTAIN REGIONS.GLOBALLY, 1 BILLION HECTARES OF LAND IS NEGATIVELY AFFECTED BY SALINITY AND OF ALL IRRIGATED ARABLE LAND ABOUT 20% (63 MILLION HA) IS SALT AFFECTED.THIS NUMBER INCREASES WITH 2000 HA EVERY DAY AND CROP DAMAGE IN THE IRRIGATED AREAS IS ESTIMATED AT US$ 27.3 BILLION EVERY YEAR; THUS, WITH THE INCREASE OF WORLD POPULATION AND CLIMATIC CHANGES ON A GLOBAL SCALE, SALINITY IS AN ISSUE THAT WILL ONLY GROW IN IMPORTANCE AND URGENTLY REQUIRES A SOLUTION. SUPERIOR STRAWBERRY CULTIVARS THAT ARE SALINITY TOLERANT ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED TO MAINTAIN U.S. INDUSTRY PROFITABILITY AND COMPETITIVENESS IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A COST EFFECTIVE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS SOLUTION TO ADDRESS CROP LOSS OFSTRAWBERRIESASSOCIATED WITH HIGH LEVELS OF SALT PRESENT IN THE SOIL AND/OR IRRIGATION WATER. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL NOT ONLY PERMIT US TO GAIN VALUABLE INSIGHT INTO THE UNDERLYING GENETICS OF SALINITY TOLERANCE IN STRAWBERRY, BUT DEVELOP MOLECULAR MARKERS THAT WILL ENABLE STRAWBERRY BREEDING PROGRAMS ACROSS THE U.S. TO MORE EASILY DEVELOP SUPERIOR CULTIVARS THAT ARE RESISTANT TO HIGH SALINITY LEVELS.