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Strategies for Enhancing Resilience in Horticultural Crops Against Combined Abiotic Stresses

Summary

As climate change brings more extreme weather, vegetable and fruit crops face multiple environmental challenges simultaneously, like drought, high salt content, and heat. Scientists have developed practical approaches to make these crops stronger, including breeding tougher varieties, grafting plants onto hardy rootstocks, and applying special nanoparticles and natural plant boosters. These combined strategies help crops survive harsh conditions while maintaining good yields and quality, supporting food security for growing populations worldwide.

Background

Horticultural crops face increasing exposure to simultaneous abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and temperature extremes due to climate change. These combined stresses often exacerbate each other’s effects, leading to severe yield and quality losses. Current agricultural approaches struggle to address these multifaceted challenges effectively.

Objective

This review examines recent advancements in methodologies to enhance the resilience of horticultural crops against combined abiotic stresses. It evaluates integrated strategies including breeding and selection of stress-tolerant cultivars, grafting onto stress-tolerant rootstocks, and priming strategies using nanoparticles and biostimulants.

Results

Key findings show that breeding for stress tolerance, grafting with tolerant rootstocks, and application of nanoparticles and biostimulants collectively improve plant water status, enhance nutrient uptake, and upregulate antioxidant defenses. These strategies modulate physiological responses including improved photosynthesis, enhanced osmolyte accumulation, and stronger antioxidant enzyme activities under combined abiotic stresses.

Conclusion

Integrating multiple strategies—including conventional and molecular breeding, grafting technology, nanomaterials, and biostimulants—optimizes physiological resilience and biochemical robustness in horticultural crops. These integrated approaches ensure stable yields and quality under challenging environmental conditions and contribute to global food security amid climate variability.
  • Published in:Physiologia Plantarum,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: PMC12415420; PMID: 40916354
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