Physiological Mechanism of Abscisic Acid-Induced Heat-Tolerance Responses to Cultivation Techniques in Wheat and Maize—Review

Abstract

Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a physiological role in regulating the heat tolerance of plants and maintaining crop productivity under high-temperature stress. Appropriate cultivation techniques can regulate endogenous ABA and help farmers improve food production under high-temperature stress. Here, the physiological basis for ABA-induced heat tolerance in crops is reviewed. High-temperature stress stimulates ABA, which reduces stomatal opening and promotes root growth. The root system absorbs water to maintain the water status, thus allowing the plant to maintain physiological activities under high-temperature stress. ABA plays a synergistic role with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide biosynthesis to improve the thermal stability of the cell membrane, maintain a dynamic balance between material and energy, and reduce the negative effects of high-temperature stress on kernel number and kernel weight. Cultivation and tillage techniques adapted to high-temperature stress, such as adjustment of sowing time, application of plant growth regulators and fertilizers, and the use of irrigation, subsoiling and heat acclimation, and the mechanisms by which they improve crop heat tolerance, are also reviewed. The results of the studies reviewed here will help researchers develop techniques for cultivating food crops under heat stress and apply them to food-production fields to improve crop productivity.