Abstract: Cadmium (Cd) is one of the main heavy metal pollutants in crop plants. Alleviating Cd toxicity in crops is the focus of agricultural environment research. Salicylic acid (SA), an important endogenous phytohormone, plays a crucial role in mediating plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Recent studies showed that SA can effectively alleviate Cd toxicity in crops, which provides a new strategy to minimize Cd pollution in crops. We summarized the research progress on the role of SA in alleviating Cd toxicity in crops and the underlying physiological and ecological mechanisms, including deposition on root cell walls, vacuole compartmentalization, improving leaf photosynthesis, maintaining mineral element balance, inducing antioxidant defense system and hormonal signaling interaction. Furthermore, we proposed future prospects for the signal transduction pathway of SA in alleviating Cd toxicity and the interaction mechanism of signaling SA and other phytohormones, aiming to provide theoretical basis for controlling Cd accumulation in crops growing in Cdcontaminated soils.

Key words: salicylic acid, crop plant, cadmium toxicity, mechanism.