Effects of Water Stress and Climate Warming on Crop Growth, Physiology and Yield

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 298

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR-Provincia de La Rioja-UNLaR-SEGEMAR-UNCa-CONICET), Entre Ríos y Mendoza s/n, Anillaco 5301, La Rioja, Argentina
Interests: olive crop production; water stress; global warming

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As precipitation patterns are altered and air temperatures rise due to climate change, maintaining agricultural crop yields is becoming a considerable challenge for many growers around the world, with greater year-to-year variability in yields and profit. How increasing water stress due to regular drought and rising air temperatures will ultimately affect vegetative growth, physiology, and yield is still a largely open question in many regions. This Special Issue will contribute knowledge based on experimental studies, modelling, or reviews to further our understanding of this field. Manuscripts covering a wide range of topics related to crop water stress and/or climate warming are welcome. The evaluated crops may include annual field crops, horticultural crops, or fruit trees. Evaluations integrating various aspects of growth, physiology, and yield or that address water stress in combination with high temperatures are particularly relevant for advancing our scientific knowledge. Novel studies that provide technological solutions to water stress and alleviate high-temperature stress are also suitable for this Special Issue.

Dr. Peter S. Searles
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • water stress
  • drought
  • high temperature
  • global warming
  • plant growth
  • plant physiology
  • yield
  • field crops
  • fruit trees
  • horticultural vegetables

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 2736 KB  
Article
Evaluation of Peanut Physiological Responses to Heat and Drought Stress Across Growth Chamber and Field Environments
by Ranadheer Reddy Vennam, Keely M. Beard, David C. Haak and Maria Balota
Plants 2025, 14(17), 2687; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14172687 - 28 Aug 2025
Abstract
Heat-exacerbated drought stress is becoming increasingly common in crop production systems, including peanuts, yet limited information exists on how peanut cultivars respond to this combined stress. While controlled environments allow for the isolation of these stress effects, their relevance to field conditions remains [...] Read more.
Heat-exacerbated drought stress is becoming increasingly common in crop production systems, including peanuts, yet limited information exists on how peanut cultivars respond to this combined stress. While controlled environments allow for the isolation of these stress effects, their relevance to field conditions remains unclear. In this study, five Virginia-type peanut cultivars were evaluated under four treatments in a growth chamber environment, i.e., control, heat, drought, and combined heat and drought stress; and under two treatments in the field environment, i.e., rainfed control, and combined heat and drought stress using rainout shelters. The physiological traits assessed included stomatal conductance and transpiration rate, as well as leaf temperature difference. In both environments, combined heat and drought resulted in a significant decline in physiological performance compared to control conditions. On average, stomatal conductance decreased by 65% in the growth chamber and 21% in the field under combined heat and drought stress, while transpiration was reduced by 49% and 24%, respectively. In the growth chamber, leaf temperature difference increased by 40% under combined stress, whereas it was not statistically different under field conditions. Correlations of the physiological responses between growth chamber and field were stronger under combined stress conditions than under control conditions. Principal component analysis revealed clear genotypic separation based on gas exchange and thermal traits, with NC 20 and Sullivan consistently associated with higher stomatal conductance and transpiration under stress across environments, indicating greater physiological resilience, while Emery clustered with traits linked to stress susceptibility. These findings underscore the significant impacts of combined stress in peanut production and highlight the importance of evaluating cultivar responses under both controlled and field environments to guide crop improvement strategies. Full article
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