Research in biosalinity includes studies of the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of salt tolerance in plants, breeding and selection for salt tolerance (halotolerance), discovery of periods in a crop plant's life cycle when it may be less sensitive to salt, use of saline irrigation water to increase desirable traits (such as sugar concentration in a fruit) or to control the ripening process, study of the interaction between salinity and soil properties, and development of naturally salt-tolerant plant species (halophytes) into useful agricultural crops. See also halophile bacteria, which thrive under conditions of high salinity.