A critical review for hydrogen application in agriculture: Recent advances and perspectives

With the climate change and urbanization, the area of cultivated land is decreasing, and crops are also subjected to various biological and abiotic stresses. How to improve crop yield and stress resistance has become an urgent agricultural production problem that must be solved. Hydrogen has the characteristics of being green and clean, which has great advantages and is significant for the development of modern agriculture and sustainable agriculture. This paper reviews the effects of hydrogen on plant growth and development, stress resistance, and postharvest preservation, which has not been systematically reviewed. And the regulatory network for hydrogen to exert plant effects, involving miRNA, DNA expression, hormone changes, protein modification regulation, reactive oxygen species, and various gas signal molecules. As a simple and safe treatment method, hydrogen rich water (HRW) has a certain application prospect in agriculture. Finally, the development and practice of hydrogen agriculture are prospected.