Physiology of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crops at Reproductive Stages and Crop Improvement Strategies

Dear Colleagues,

Global crop productivity is seriously threatened by extreme weather events. For examples, climatic stresses such as heat, drought, salinity, and cold stresses are responsible for more than 50% of annual yield loss of major crops. Due to their strong association with yield formation, the reproductive phases of crop development are particularly sensitive to these stresses. Global warming is also responsible for altering weather patterns and frequent extreme events. This increases the risk of crop exposure to abiotic stress during sensitive growth phases. Sustaining crop yield and nutritional quality under changing climates is one of the major goals of plant breeders/managers. Grain yield stability under stressed environments can be achieved through a better understanding of stress-induced changes in crops. The plants respond to these stresses through a complex pathway, which starts with the perception of stress; then triggering a cascade of molecular events; and inducing physiological, metabolic, and developmental changes. To enhance our ability to breed adaptive crops with resilience to individual or combined abiotic stresses, it is essential to gain a better understanding of the abiotic stress tolerance mechanism by integrating physiology and development. This information will used for developing the crops better adapted to the extreme environments.

This Special Issue covers original research and review articles on yield stability of crops under abiotic stresses, i.e., changing CO₂ levels, atmospheric temperature, and rainfall patterns. Major aspects may include, but are not limited to, the following: understanding morphological, physiological, and molecular respones of crop plants to these stress events occurring during their reproductive developmental phases. Furthermore, any breeding efforts to improve crop resistance to abiotic stresses would be encouraged.

Submissions on (but not limited to) the following topics are invited: (1) quantifying the impact of abiotic stress on crops during reproductive growth phases; (2) identification of physiological and morphological traits associate with stress tolerance mechanisms; (3) breeding for abiotic stress tolerance; and (4) utilisation of crop wild relatives for abiotic stress resilience.

Dr. Najeeb Ullah
Guest Editor

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