Developing drought-smart, ready-to-grow future crops

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Biology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Global food security is threatened by increasing drought stress (DS) impacting crop productivity.
• Understanding the complex physiological, biochemical, molecular, and ecological responses of plants to DS is vital.
• DS causes yield losses through physical, physiological, biochemical, and molecular disruptions in crops.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in understanding plant responses to drought stress.
• To explore mechanisms underlying crop tolerance and susceptibility to DS.
• To identify and discuss effective strategies for mitigating DS impacts on agriculture.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of plant responses to drought stress.
• Analysis of physiological, biochemical, molecular, and ecological mechanisms.
• Evaluation of various mitigation strategies including omics, breeding, and agronomic practices.

Main Results:

• Drought stress affects crop growth and yield via multiple pathways.
• Diverse strategies exist to enhance crop drought tolerance.
• Integrated approaches combining omics, genome editing, and breeding show promise.

Conclusions:

• Developing drought-resilient crops requires a multi-faceted approach.
• Combining advanced techniques like multi-omics and genome editing with traditional methods is key.
• Achieving sustainable agriculture and food security necessitates the development of 'drought-smart' cultivars.