Adaptation options for sustainable production of cucurbitaceous vegetable under climate change situation

Abstract

Cucurbits are vegetable crops belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae. The family consists of about 118 genera and 825 species. These crops are important sources of livelihood securities for resource poor farmers and can be grown in varied agroclimates ranging from temperate, subtropical, tropical, and arid deserts. Recently, cultivation of crops including cucurbits is confronted with biotic and abiotic stresses caused by global climate change. It is argued that increased CO 2 concentration has beneficial effect on productivities of several crops when studied in isolation. However, under field conditions, the interaction between CO 2 concentration and increased temperature needs to be investigated in details. Pressure of biotic stresses is also likely to increase due to climate change. Wild relatives of cucurbits are also equally impacted by rise in temperatures. It is feared that important species of many crops possessing valuable gene pools will be on the verge of extinction in the near future. The grave ramifications of climate change can be circumvented with a combination of effective climate protection and adaptation measures. Climate protection measures are well established in the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Possible adaptation measures for cucurbits are weather forecasts, simulation models, breeding short duration varieties, breeding heat- and drought-tolerant varieties, and agronomic manipulations. Developing stress-tolerant/stress-avoiding varieties and appropriate production technologies in cucurbits have a great potential to contribute to food and livelihood security in vulnerable agricultural environments.