AbstractAgriculture worldwide is facing serious challenges due to climate change and atmospheric stresses, which are threatening the productivity of essential crops like rice, wheat, maize, and pulses. This paper examines how major atmospheric stressors such as rising temperatures, drought, elevated CO2, and ozone are impacting these crops, focusing on their vulnerabilities and potential adaptation strategies to reduce yield losses. Rice is highly sensitive to heat stress, which can cause spikelet sterility and decrease yields, while drought and ozone pollution also harm productivity. To adapt, strategies like breeding for heat and drought-resistant cultivars, optimizing planting dates, and following management practices like the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) are crucial. Wheat, which accounts for 20% of global calories, is also impacted by heat, drought, and ozone, with each 1°C rise in temperature potentially reducing yields by 6%. Adaptation measures for wheat include early sowing, drought-tolerant varieties, and canopy temperature regulation. On the other hand, maize suffers from heat and drought stress, affecting photosynthesis and grain filling, with adaptation strategies focused on breeding, precision irrigation, and improved sowing schedules. Pulse crops like chickpeas and lentils face yield losses due to heat stress during flowering, and while elevated CO2 may improve water-use efficiency, it can also worsen heat stress. Adaptation for pulses includes breeding resilient varieties, better irrigation, and soil management. A combined approach of breeding, precision agriculture, and region-specific practices are essential to ensure long-term agricultural sustainability and food security in the face of climate change.
Reddy et al. (Mon,) studied this question.