Chapter 26 - Climate change triggering abiotic stresses and losses in wheat production and quality

Abstract

Rapid climate change and global warming are directly posing serious threats to agricultural productivity, and is a major challenge for the researchers and growers. Climate change models have predicted significant losses in the production of wheat and other crops by increasing the probability and frequency of stresses. Most of the yield losses and poor growth are associated with the abiotic stresses such as temperature extremities, salinity, drought, flooding, and poor physical and chemical properties of soil causing compromised soil fertility and poor nutrient acquisition by the plants. Wheat is a staple food crop and is the main source of nutrition, starch, dietary fibers, proteins, phytochemicals, and calories for many people in all regions of the world. Despite the fact that the size of wheat cultivation area is more than those of the other cereals, but its production is less as compared to the other cereal crops such as maize and rice. There is ever-increasing demand of wheat to meet the food security standards, and maintenance of wheat production is becoming more and more difficult due to abiotic stresses, industrialization, urbanization, and conversion of agricultural lands to the residential buildings. Understanding the devastating effects and mechanisms of wheat protection against these stresses is indispensable to improve the wheat growth. Therefore, this chapter is aimed to discuss the effects of climate changes and abiotic stresses on wheat growth, development, surveillance, and production.