Drought and heat stress: insights into tolerance mechanisms and breeding strategies for pigeonpea improvement.

Abstract

Pigeonpea has potential to foster sustainable agriculture and resilience in evolving climate change; understanding bio-physiological and molecular mechanisms of heat and drought stress tolerance is imperative to developing resilience cultivars. Pigeonpea is an important legume crop that has potential resilience in the face of evolving climate scenarios. However, compared to other legumes, there has been limited research on abiotic stress tolerance in pigeonpea, particularly towards drought stress (DS) and heat stress (HS). To address this gap, this review delves into the genetic, physiological, and molecular mechanisms that govern pigeonpea's response to DS and HS. It emphasizes the need to understand how this crop combats these stresses and exhibits different types of tolerance and adaptation mechanisms through component traits. The current article provides a comprehensive overview of the complex interplay of factors contributing to the resilience of pigeonpea under adverse environmental conditions. Furthermore, the review synthesizes information on major breeding techniques, encompassing both conventional methods and modern molecular omics-assisted tools and techniques. It highlights the potential of genomics and phenomics tools and their pivotal role in enhancing adaptability and resilience in pigeonpea. Despite the progress made in genomics, phenomics and big data analytics, the complexity of drought and heat tolerance in pigeonpea necessitate continuous exploration at multi-omic levels. High-throughput phenotyping (HTP) is crucial for gaining insights into perplexed interactions among genotype, environment, and management practices (GxExM). Thus, integration of advanced technologies in breeding programs is critical for developing pigeonpea varieties that can withstand the challenges posed by climate change. This review is expected to serve as a valuable resource for researchers, providing a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying abiotic stress tolerance in pigeonpea and offering insights into modern breeding strategies that can contribute to the development of resilient varieties suited for changing environmental conditions.