Crop Protection Under Drought Stress

Abstract

Climate extremes such as drought have significant impacts on agriculture, natural resources, and environment. Climate variables such as temperature and precipitation, which have key roles during a drought, directly impact crop production because they control crop growth, crop health, crop yield, and cropping system yields over time. Moreover, overall drought impact on crop yields is the combined effect of reduced or limited precipitation with increased temperature for a prolonged period, which leads to decreased soil moisture and requires adapted agricultural management practice. This chapter provides a critical and comprehensive review of recent studies about the impact of drought on crop physiology, morphology, and yields and global food security while also commenting on available genetic and agronomic tools in addressing drought stress and protecting crops under drought conditions. Furthermore, this chapter focuses on adaptation strategies to mitigate drought and crop management using sustainable and climate-smart agriculture. Best management practices that contribute to the effects of climate change related to drought adaptation and mitigation include appropriate agronomic and genetic tools for crop protection under drought conditions. This review aims to contribute to the improvement of adaptation strategies suitable for crop production under drought conditions for sustainable agricultural management practices. It focuses on the breeding of new drought-tolerant varieties of crop species, development of new approaches to secure stable yields, and selection of early maturing crop varieties and best irrigation practices. In addition, reduced tillage practices are investigated, since many sustainable agricultural management practices have not been widely adopted due to lack of access to resources, knowledge, and practical experiences.