Chapter 13 - Current approaches in horticultural crops to mitigate the effect of drought stress

Abstract

Due to global warming, low water stress (drought) becomes a critical abiotic factor that adversely affect yield up to 50% in major horticultural crops. An insight into morpho-anatomical, physiological, and biochemical changes in drought-affected crops provides vital information to design the best strategy for reducing the influence of drought on horticultural crops. These strategies are determined by the capacity to enhance the root–nutrient relationship by reducing the deficit of soil moisture, lowering the drought impact, and accelerating the recovery process. Remedies and management strategies are being followed to cope with drought stress such as mulching, efficient irrigation, proper nutrient supply, application of plant growth–promoting rhizobacteria, and selection of climate-resilient varieties. The improvement in technologies paved the way for augmentation of drought-related genomics and transcriptomics studies, which further strengthens the quantitative trait loci mapping, genome-wide association studies, and genomic-selection strategies. Current drought stress–management technologies are based on the application of transgenic technology along with genome-editing tools for genetic modification of horticulture crops. The advancement in modern omics tools like genomics, proteomics, phenomics, and metabolomics has also enhanced the improvement of horticulture crops. Furthermore, these technologies have created new opportunities for the develop novel mitigation strategies for drought-prone horticultural crops. In the present chapter, we mainly focus on modern approaches in horticultural crops to mitigate the adverse effects of drought.