Drought management strategies in fruit crops: An overview (original) (raw)
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Mechanisms and Strategies for Improving Drought Tolerance in Fruit Crops
Climate change resulted in low water availability as well as increasing demands for food in the future makes breeding for drought tolerant crops a high priority. Drought stress is one of the most ominous abiotic factor limiting the productivity and quality of fruit crops resulting in huge economic loss to the fruit growers. Plants have developed diverse strategies and mechanisms to survive drought stress. Most of these represent drought escape or avoidance strategies like early flowering or low stomatal conductance that are not applicable in breeding for crops with high yields under drought conditions. Drought tolerance is a very complex trait as it depends not only on the severity of the drought (mild or severe), but also on the developmental stage of the plant as well as the duration. From the physiological point of view, survival is the major aim in plant stress tolerance, whereas from the agricultural point of view crop yield is the trait that determines a drought tolerant crop. This review article highlights the mechanisms and strategies for drought tolerance in fruit crops.
Impact of Drought Stress on Crop Production and Its Management Options
International journal of research studies in agricultural sciences, 2022
A In the development of agricultural crops, biotic and abiotic stresses result in considerable yield losses. One of the main obstacles to agricultural production and global food security is abiotic stress. Stress is a word that refers to several biotic and abiotic environmental factors that prevent crop plants from reaching their full genetic potential. Drought is one of the fundamental issues in the current climatic environment and is one of the most severe abiotic stresses in many areas of the world. Plants experience moisture stress when their evapotranspiration requirements are not met. Drought has a negative impact on plant development and other metabolic processes, making it one of the most significant abiotic stresses and factors restricting the successful production of plant products globally. Drought is caused by a lack of water as a result of erratic rainfall or inadequate irrigation, but it can also be hampered by other elements such as soil salinity, physical characteristics, and excessive air or soil temperatures. Insufficient water supply throughout a crop's life cycle, including precipitation and the capability of the soil to store moisture, limits the crop's potential to produce the highest possible genetic grain yield. The most significant stressor that has a significant impact on crop development and productivity is without a doubt drought. For better management, it is crucial to comprehend the physiological, biochemical, and ecological actions connected to these stresses. It is possible to generalize morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses to a broad range of plant responses to this stress. Due to physical damage, physiological disruptions, and biochemical alterations, inadequate water supplies and abnormal temperatures have a severe impact on crop growth and yields. Drought stress reduces the size of the leaves, stem extension, and root proliferation within the soil; it also disturbs plant water relations and reduces water-use efficiency, which in turn reduces the plant's ability to yield; as a result, breeding for drought resistance is a good approach. This approach combines conventional and molecular methods to develop a drought-tolerant variety. Breeding more drought-tolerant cultivars may be more successful when selection is based on a thorough testing strategy. Practical implications for treatments and management result from a greater understanding of how plants react to this stress. High demand for drought-tolerant types would seem to be a difficult issue for plant breeders, but difficulties are aggravated by the difficulty of crop yield on a genetic and physiological basis. Food security is seriously threatened by drought, which is the main reason for agricultural loss worldwide. Plant biotechnology is currently one of the most promising areas for creating crops that can generate large amounts of food in moisture environments.
Fruit Growing Research
Due to the soil and climate diversity of our country, fruit species meet favorable conditions for successful cultivation. In the context of actual climate changes, there is a need for integrated interdisciplinary research on the influence of microclimate changes, rapid diagnosis and real-time warning of changes caused by water insufficiency is strongly felt. The physiological responses of the trees to the water stress are dynamic, as the level of the water stress increases and the intensity of the response increases. The main factors on which depend the adaptation of the plants to the water stress are: the species, age, group of varieties, phenology, transpiration, photosynthetic and assimilation potential etc. The paper presents results obtained at the RIFG Pitesti-Maracineni during 2017-2019 period, regarding the influence of the water deficit registered in the last years, on some biological indicators of the trees (pollen viability, buds viability, cross trunk section surface) and quality of the fruits (fruit mass, firmness, soluble dry matter and total sugars content, acidity (pH), total sugars/pH ratio, vitamin C, in the fruits of some varieties, belonging to cherry, plum, peach and apple species, cultivated under superintensive system and with prospects for national extension into commercial farms.
Effects of Drought Stress on Crop Production and Productivity
International Journal of Research Studies in Agricultural Sciences
Stress is a change of the normal growth, development and productivity of crop plants and that is outside the normal range of homeostatic control. Among stresses, abiotic stress is caused due to moisture, temperature, mineral (deficiency/toxicity), salinity, soil acidity/soil P H. Drought is the primary cause of crop yield loss among abiotic factors around the world. It is a major problem in world, leading to food shortages and is a challenge for smallholder farmers to produce enough crop grain when rainfall is low and erratic. Climate change is the main cause of biotic and abiotic stresses, which have adverse effects the world's crop production and productivity. Crop production is determined by the existence of sufficient rain fall, especially in areas where crop production is totally relied on rain fall, there is always risk of crop failure or yield loss due to moisture stress. In severe cases, the stress could lead to total crop loss. This day, increasing crop yield is required to meet the needs of increasing population growth, however yield reduction is observed in areas where drought is predominantly devastated crop production. Short duration drought stress mostly reduces grain yield while prolonged drought stress leads to complete death of plant. Drought stress occurs at different stages of growth and adversely affect yield and yield related traits, which lead to reduction in yield. The effect of drought stress is mainly depending on the developmental stage of the plant, degree and duration of the stress, genotypic capacity of species and environmental interactions. Crop plants have adaptation strategies to survive under drought stress by the development of various morphological, physiological and biochemical mechanisms. However, a plant may exhibit more than one strategy to cope with drought stress. Drought resistance is the mechanism(s) causing minimum loss of yield in a drought condition. Drought escape, dehydration avoidance, reduced transpiration or physiological factors are some drought resistance mechanisms. Drought resistant genotypes maintain high photosynthesis under moisture stress condition by restricting transpiration water loss. Finally, the global food security is threatened by climate change and the most challenging in the 21 st century to supply sufficient food for the increasing world population. The use of well adapted and high-yielding varieties with resistance to drought stress is important to reach maximum yield potential as long as possible through minimizing the risk of climate change. Climate-smart agriculture is the only way to reduce the negative impact of climate variations on crop adaptation, before it might affect global crop production drastically.
Horticultural Science, 2021
Mediterranean farming is facing increasing periods of water shortage and, in the coming decades, the water reduction is expected to exert the most adverse impact upon growth and productivity. This study was performed to assess the response of the physico-biochemical quality parameters of mango fruits to different doses of irrigation in a Mediterranean subtropical area in Spain. During two-monitoring seasons, trees were subjected to deficit-irrigation strategies receiving 33, 50, and 75% of a crop evapotranspiration (ETC), and a control at 100% ETC. According to the findings and respect to control, the yield was reduced in 8, 11, and 20% for the water-stressed trees at 75, 50, and 33% ETC, respectively, producing smaller fruits in line with the amount of applied irrigation. However, the water-stressed fruits significantly enhanced their quality, in particular at 33% ETC, with regards to the content of the health-promoting phytochemicals (total soluble solids, vitamin C, and β-caroten...
Water shortage and quality of fleshy fruits--making the most of the unavoidable
Journal of experimental botany, 2014
Extreme climatic events, including drought, are predicted to increase in intensity, frequency, and geographic extent as a consequence of global climate change. In general, to grow crops successfully in the future, growers will need to adapt to less available water and to take better advantage of the positive effects of drought. Fortunately, there are positive effects associated with drought. Drought stimulates the secondary metabolism, thereby potentially increasing plant defences and the concentrations of compounds involved in plant quality, particularly taste and health benefits. The role of drought on the production of secondary metabolites is of paramount importance for fruit crops. However, to manage crops effectively under conditions of limited water supply, for example by applying deficit irrigation, growers must consider not only the impact of drought on productivity but also on how plants manage the primary and secondary metabolisms. This question is obviously complex becau...
Agronomía Colombiana, 2023
Incidents of flooding in tropical and subtropical fruit trees have increased as a result of climate change. Because of flooding, the anaerobic conditions of the rhizosphere increase the conditions for phytotoxicity and infection by pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Due to oxygen depletion in waterlogged soils, growth, functions of the roots and of the entire plant are impaired. The decrease in the photosynthetic rate is considerable because of the reduced functional leaf area because of chlorosis, necrosis, leaf drop and stomatal closure, as well as chlorophyll degradation. Plants have developed different morphological, physiological, and biochemical adaptations to survive hypoxic stress. Some fruit trees form an aerenchyma in roots for the diffusion of oxygen from the aerial parts, create aerenchyma-containing adventitious roots, rapidly elongate stems into deeply flooded soils; or they form hypertrophied lenticels, like some mango varieties. Measures for better adaptations and tolerance of tropical fruit trees to climatic impact include the following: adaptations of the cultivated terrain, selection of varieties, rootstocks more tolerant to hypoxic stress, pruning to reestablish the balance of the aerial part/roots, and foliar applications (e.g., of glycine betaine or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)). Mycorrhizal colonization of roots can increase tolerance to waterlogging, while the application of fertilizers, such as CaOor MgO, can improve the redox potential of flooded soils. We present results of studies on this problem for the following fruits: yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) and purple passion fruit (P. edulis f. edulis), cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana), lulo or naranjilla (Solanum quitoense), tree tomato (Solanum betaceum), citrus (Citrus spp.), guava (Psidium guajava), papaya (Carica papaya), and mango (Mangifera indica).
Plant Drought Stress: Effects, Mechanisms and Management
Sustainable Agriculture, 2009
Scarcity of water is a severe environmental constraint to plant productivity. Drought-induced loss in crop yield probably exceeds losses from all other causes, since both the severity and duration of the stress are critical. Here, we have reviewed the effects of drought stress on the growth, phenology, water and nutrient relations, photosynthesis, assimilate partitioning, and respiration in plants. This article also describes the mechanism of drought resistance in plants on a morphological, physiological and molecular basis. Various management strategies have been proposed to cope with drought stress. Drought stress reduces leaf size, stem extension and root proliferation, disturbs plant water relations and reduces water-use efficiency. Plants display a variety of physiological and biochemical responses at cellular and whole-organism levels towards prevailing drought stress, thus making it a complex phenomenon. CO 2 assimilation by leaves is reduced mainly by stomatal closure, membrane damage and disturbed activity of various enzymes, especially those of CO 2 fixation and adenosine triphosphate synthesis. Enhanced metabolite flux through the photorespiratory pathway increases the oxidative load on the tissues as both processes generate reactive oxygen species. Injury caused by reactive oxygen species to biological macromolecules under drought stress is among the major deterrents to growth. Plants display a range of mechanisms to withstand drought stress. The major mechanisms include curtailed water loss by increased diffusive resistance, enhanced water uptake with prolific and deep root systems and its efficient use, and smaller and succulent leaves to reduce the transpirational loss. Among the nutrients, potassium ions help in osmotic adjustment; silicon increases root endodermal silicification and improves the cell water balance. Low-molecular-weight osmolytes, including glycinebetaine, proline and other amino acids, organic acids, and polyols, are crucial to sustain cellular functions under drought. Plant growth substances such as salicylic acid, auxins, gibberrellins, cytokinin and abscisic acid modulate the plant responses towards drought. Polyamines, citrulline and several enzymes act as antioxidants and reduce the adverse effects of water deficit. At molecular levels several drought-responsive genes and transcription factors have been identified, such as the dehydration-responsive element-binding gene, aquaporin, late embryogenesis abundant proteins and dehydrins. Plant drought tolerance can be managed by adopting strategies such as mass screening and breeding, marker-assisted selection and exogenous application of hormones and osmoprotectants to seed or growing plants, as well as engineering for drought resistance. drought response / stomatal oscillation / osmoprotectants / hormones / stress proteins / drought management / CO 2 Plant drought stress: effects, mechanisms and management 187 Table I. Economic yield reduction by drought stress in some representative field crops. Crop Growth stage Yield reduction References Barley Seed filling 49-57% Samarah (2005) Maize Grain filling 79-81% Monneveux et al. (2005) Maize Reproductive 63-87% Kamara et al. (2003) Maize Reproductive 70-47% Chapman and Edmeades (1999) Maize Vegetative 25-60% Atteya et al. (2003) Maize Reproductive 32-92% Atteya et al. (2003) Rice Reproductive (mild stress) 53-92% Lafitte et al. (2007) Rice Reproductive (severe stress) 48-94% Lafitte et al. (2007) Rice Grain filling (mild stress) 30-55% Basnayake et al. (2006) Rice Grain filling (severe stress) 60% Basnayake et al. (2006) Rice Reproductive 24-84% Venuprasad et al. (2007) Chickpea Reproductive 45-69% Nayyar et al. (2006) Pigeonpea Reproductive 40-55% Nam et al. (2001) Common beans Reproductive 58-87% Martínez et al. (2007) Soybean Reproductive 46-71% Samarah et al. (2006) Cowpea Reproductive 60-11% Ogbonnaya et al. (2003) Sunflower Reproductive 60% Mazahery-Laghab et al. (2003) Canola Reproductive 30% Sinaki et al. (2007) Potato Flowering 13% Kawakami et al. (2006)