Drought and High-Temperature Stress Tolerance in Field Crops

Drought and high temperature occur combinedly that reduce crop productivity in the present increasing intensity of climate change, severely affecting global food security. In most cases, the combined effect of both stresses on crop productivity has been encountered. Even mild stress due to drought and high temperature results in significant yield reduction in crops. High temperature and drought result more than 50% yield reduction. Flowering stage, being the most sensitive to these stresses, cause maximum yield reduction in many crops. Through the evolutionary process, crops adapt to escape and/or withstand these stresses through various modifications at morphological, physiological and molecular levels. Recent advances in genomics and phenotyping tools enabled researchers to study in-details and understand the phenomenon of stress tolerance that can help in extenuating the adverse effect of the stresses and development of stress-tolerant varieties. In this chapter, the effect of both the stresses on the physiological, morphological, biochemical and genetic aspects and their potential strategies for crop improvement have been discussed.