Impact of climate change on fruit and vegetable crops and its mitigation strategies

Abstract

The biggest challenge to humanity in the twenty-first century is global warming and climate change. Climate change reduces production and efficiency, while also increasing environmental stress on fruit and vegetable crops. Increased temperature, decreased irrigation water supply, flooding, and salinity are thought to be the limiting factors in improving fruit and vegetable productivity. The melting of the Himalayan ice cap would minimise the cooling effect needed for the flowering of many horticultural crops such as apples, saffron, rhododendrons, and orchids, among others. Commercial horticulture plant development especially that grown in open fields will be severely harmed. Integrated approaches such as fertiliser and tillage, residue management, water management, mulching, enhanced pest management, and breeding approaches such as production of genotypes resistant to high temperatures, salinity, modification of current horticultural practices, and increased use of greenhouse technology are to be adopted. Conservation agriculture, renewable energy, forest and water conservation, reforestation, and other methods are the most important.