Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Abiotic Stress in Agricultural Crops Under Climatic Conditions

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Sustainable Agriculture, Forest and Environmental Management

Abstract

Crop stress has been identified as one of the problems that threaten global food security. Crop stress is an injurious deviation from the normal physiological processes that result into a decline in crop yields. It could be due to biotic factors (biotic stress, i.e. insect pests and disease pathogens) or abiotic factors (abiotic stress, i.e. drought, flooding, radiation and nutrient deficiencies). Agricultural crops normally undergo series of physiological processes (photosynthesis, respiration, stomatal functions and nutrition) during developmental stages of their life cycles that are sensitive to environmental conditions. The stressed environmental impact on the crops during growth and development leads to biochemical and morphological modifications in plant species. This chapter details the predominantly occurring abiotic stresses of crops that are directly or indirectly associated with the disruption of the normal growth and developmental processes in crops. The effects of abiotic stress in plants range from the qualitative and quantitative changes in the synthesis of type of proteins in crops to the disruption of the flower bud formation and pollination process in plant, as well as impaired nutrient uptake resulting in poor crop yields. About 51–82% crop yield in world agriculture is lost annually due to abiotic stress. The mechanisms of the four principal abiotic stresses (temperature, water, radiation, nutrients, etc.) are presented in the chapter. An understanding of the mechanisms of abiotic stress in agricultural crops could help farmers to optimize the crop productivity under the changing climate. This chapter therefore focuses on causes of the abiotic stresses affecting world food crops, their effects and possible stress coping strategies to promote global food sufficiency.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

ACC:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate

C4:

4-Carbon sugar compound

Ca:

Calcium

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

K:

Potassium

Mg:

Magnesium

N:

Nitrogen

NA:

Nucleic acids

P:

Phosphorus

QTL:

Quantitative trait loci

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

UV:

Ultraviolet

References

  • Ahmad P, Prasad MNV (2012) Abiotic stress responses in plants: metabolism, productivity and sustainability. Springer, New York, pp 1–63

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Akinci S, Losel DM (2012) Plant water – stress response mechanisms. In: Rahman IM, Hasegawa H (eds) Water stress. InTech Open Access, London, pp 15–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Alam SM (1999) Nutrient uptake by plants under stress conditions. In Pessarakli M (ed) Handbook of plant and crop stress, Second ed. rev. and exp. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 285–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Suhaibani NAR (1996) Physiological studies on the growth and survival of Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa) seedlings under low temperature. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Department of Animal and Plant Science, University of Sheffield, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Arshad M, Sharoona B, Mahmood T (2008) Inoculation with Pseudomonas spp. containing ACC deaminase partially eliminate the effects of drought stress on growth, yield and ripening of pea (Pisum sativum L.). Pedosphere 18:611–620

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashoka P, Meena RS, Kumar S, Yadav GS, Layek J (2017) Green nanotechnology is a key for eco-friendly agriculture. J Clean Prod 142:4440–4441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashraf M, Berge SH, Mahmood OT (2004) Inoculating wheat seedling with exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria restricts sodium uptake and stimulates plant growth under salt stress. Biol Fertil Soils 40:157–162

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beppu K, Ikeda T, Kataoka I (2001) Effect of high temperature exposure time during flower bud formation on the occurrence of double pistils in – “satohnishiki” sweet cherry. Sci Hortic 87:77–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernacchia G, Furini A (2004) Biochemical and molecular responses to water stress in resurrection plants. Physiol Plantarum 121:175–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Buragohain S, Sharma B, Nath JD, Gogaoi N, Meena RS, Lal R (2017) Impact of ten years of bio-fertilizer use on soil quality and rice yield on an inceptisol in Assam, India. Soil Res 56:49. https://doi.org/10.1071/SR17001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chetal S, Wagle DS, Nainawatee HS (1981) Glycolipid changes in wheat and barley chloroplast under water stress. Plant Sci Lett 20:225–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cole P, McCloud P (1985) Salinity and climatic effects on the yields of citrus. Aust J Exp Agric 25:711–717

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer GR, Urano K, Delrot S, Pezzotti M, Shinozaki K (2011) Effects of abiotic stress on plants: a systems biology perspective. BMC Plant Biology, 14 pp. BioMed Central Ltd

    Google Scholar 

  • Dadhich RK, Meena RS, Reager ML, Kansotia BC (2015) Response of bio-regulators to yield and quality of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czernj. And Cosson) under different irrigation environments. J Appl Nat Sci 7(1):52–57

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dhakal Y, Meena RS, Kumar S (2016) Effect of INM on nodulation, yield, quality and available nutrient status in soil after harvest of green gram. Legum res 39(4):590–594

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupius L, Dumas D (1990) Influence of temperature stress on in vitro fertilization and heat shock protein synthesis in maize (Zea mays L.) reproductive systems. Plant Physiol 94:665–670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edmeades GO, Balaoos J, Lafitte HR (1992) Progress in selecting for drought tolerance in maize. In Wilkinson D (ed) In: Proceedings of the 47th annual corn and sorghum research conference, Chicago. December 9–10, 1992. ASTA, Washington, pp 93–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Egamberdiyeva D (2007) The effect of plant growth promoting bacteria on growth and nutrient uptake of maize in two different soils. Appl Soil Ecol 36:184–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ejiogu AO, Offor IR (2009) Assessment of the use of Vetiver Grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) in sheet erosion management in Imo State. In: Proceedings of the 9th global conference on business & economics (GCBE), October 16–17, 2009, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK. 25 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekanem UO, Adetimirin VO, Oyatomi OA, Abberton MT, Boukar O, Fatokun CA (2017) Screening of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean (L) Verdc.) accessions for seedling stage drought tolerance. In: Proceedings of the 20th symposium of the international association of research scholars and fellows, June 20–21 2017

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerakis PA, Guerrero FP, Williams WA (1975) Growth, water relations and nutrition of three grassland annuals as affected by drought. J Appl Ecol 12:125–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gobin A (2012) Impact of heat and drought stress on arable crop production in Belgium. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 12:1911–1922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goda H, Sasaki E, Akiyama K, Maruyama-Nakashita A, Nakabayashi K, Li W, Ogawa M, Yamauchi Y, Preston J, Aoki K, Kiba T, Takatsuto S, Fujioka S, Asami T, Nakano T, Kato H, Mizuno T, Sakakibara H, Yamaguchi S, Nambara E, Kamiya Y, Takahashi H, Hirai MY, Sakurai T, Shinozaki K, Saito K, Yoshida S, Shimada Y (2008) The At Gen express hormone and chemical treatment data set: experimental design, data evaluation, model data analysis and data access. Plant J 55(3):526–542

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gusta L (2012) Abiotic stresses and agricultural sustainability. J Crop Improve 26(3):415–427

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hartfield JL, Prueger JH (2015) Temperature extremes: effect on plant growth and development. Weather Clim Extremes 10:4–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartfield JL, Boote KJ, Kimball BA, Ziska LH, Izaurralde RC, Ort D, Thomson AM, Wolfe DW (2011) Climate impacts on agriculture: implications for crop production. Agron J 103:351–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrero MP, Johnson RR (1980) High temperature stress and pollen viability in maize. Crop Sci 20:796–800

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodges SC (2014) Soil fertility basics. North Carolina State University Press, Raleigh. 75 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenks M, Hasegawa PM (2005) Plant abiotic stress, Biological Science Series. Blackwell Publishing, Ames. 266 p

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kadir S, Sidhu G, Al-Khatib K (2006) Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassaduch.) growth and productivity as affected by temperature. Hortic Sci 41:1423–1430

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kameli A (1990) Metabolic responses of durum wheat to water stress and their role in drought resistance. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Animal and Plant Sci. Dept., University of Sheffield, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Karan R, Subudhi PK (2012) Approaches to increasing salt tolerance in crop plants. In: Ahmad P, Prasad MNV (eds) Abiotic stress responses in plants: metabolism, productivity and sustainability. Springer, New York, pp 63–88

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kaur S, Singh SP, Kingra PK (2017) Detection and management of abiotic stresses in wheat using remote sensing technique. Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci 6(8):616–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim HY, Horie T, Nakagawa H, Wada K (1996) Effects of elevated CO2 concentration and high temperature on growth and yield of rice. II. The effect of yield and its component of Akihikari rice. Jpn J Crop Sci 65:644–651

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kozlowski TT (1968) Water deficits and plant growth, vol I, Pp. 1-21. Academic press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar M (2013) Crop plants and abiotic stresses. J Biomol Res Ther 3(1):125

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar S, Meena RS, Pandey A, Seema (2017) Soil acidity management and an economics response of lime and sulfur on sesame in an alley cropping system. Int J Curr Microb App Sci 6(3):2566–2573

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lobell DB, Schlenker W, Coasta Roberts J (2011) Climate trends and global crop production since 1980. Science 333:616–620

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Madhaiyan M, Poonguzhali S, Sa T (2007) Metal tolerating methylotrophic bacteria reduces nickel and cadmium toxicity and promotes plant growth of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.). Chemosphere 69:220–228

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mantri N, Patade V, Penna S, Ford R, Pang E (2012) Abiotic stress in plants: present and future. In: Ahmad P, Prasad MNV (eds) Abiotic stress responses in plants: metabolism, productivity and sustainability. Springer, New York, pp 1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Meehl GA, Stocker TF, Collins WD, Gaye AJ, Gregory JM, Kitoh A, Knutti R, Murphy JM, Noda A, Raper SCB, Watterson JG, Weaver AJ, Zhao Z (2007) Global climate projections. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Meena RS, Yadav RS (2014) Phonological performance of groundnut varieties under sowing environments in hyper arid zone of Rajasthan, India. J Appl Nat Sci 6(2):344–348

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meena H, Meena RS, Singh B, Kumar S (2016) Response of bio-regulators to morphology and yield of clusterbean [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.] under different sowing environments. J Appl Nat Sci 8(2):715–718

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meena RS, Meena PD, Yadav GS, Yadav SS (2017) Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms, principles and application of microphos technology. J Clean Prod 145:157–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mittler R, Vanderauwera S, Suzuki N, Miller G, Tognetti VB, Vandepoele K, Gollery M, Shulaev V, Van BF (2011) ROS signaling: the new wave? Trends Plant Sci 16(6):300–309

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan PW, Drew MC (1997) Ethylene and plant responses to stress. Physiol Plant 100(3):620–630

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Navari-Izzo F, Quartacci MF, Izzo R (1989) Lipid changes in maize seedlings in response to field water deficits. J Exp Bot 40(215):675–680

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Navari-Izzo F, Vangioni N, Quartacci MF (1990) Lipids of soybean and sunflower seedlings grown under drought conditions. Phytochemistry 29(7):2119–2123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Navari-Izzo F, Quartacci MF, Melfi D, Izzo R (1993) Lipid composition of plasma membranes isolated from sunflower seedlings grown under water-stress. Physiol Plant 87:508–514

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Niles M (2008) Sustainable soils: reducing, mitigating and adapting to climate change with organic agriculture. Sustain Dev Policy 9(1):19–23, 68–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Nwosu NJ, Okon PB (2012) Impacts of climate change on soil quality of tropical acid-sands. Unpublished B. Scproject. Department of Soil Science, University of Calabar, Nigeria, pp 44–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer DP (2005) Agriculture in the developing world: connecting innovations in plant research to downstream applications. Proc Nat Acad USA 102(44):15739–15746

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patakas A (2012) Abiotic stress – induced morphological and anatomical changes in plants. In: Ahmad P, Prasad MNV (eds) Abiotic stress responses in plants: metabolism, productivity and sustainability. Springer, New York, pp 20–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Pham TAT, Flood C, Vieira da Silva J (1982) Effects of water stress on lipid and fatty acid composition of cotton leaves. In: Wintermans JFGM, Kuiper PJC (eds) Biochemistry and metabolism of plant lipids. Elsevier Biomedical Press, Amsterdam, pp 451–454

    Google Scholar 

  • Quartacci MF, Sgherri CIM, Pinzino C, Navari-Izzo F (1994) Superoxide radical production in wheat plants differently sensitive to drought. Proc R Soc Edinburg 1028:287–290

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes D, Nadolska-Orczyk A (2001) Plant stress physiology. Encyclopedia of life science. Wiley, New York, pp 1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez L, Gonzalez-Guzman M, Diaz M, Rogrigues A, Izquierdo-Garcia AC, Peirats-Llobet M, Fernandez MA, Antoni R, Fernandez D, Marquez JA (2015) C2 – domain abscisic acid – related proteins mediate the interaction of PYR/PYL/RCAR abscisic acid receptors with the plasma membrane and regulate basic acid sensitivity in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 26:4802–4820

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saravanakumar D, Samiyappan R (2007) ACC deaminase from Pseudomonas fluorescens mediated saline resistance in ground-nut (Arachis hypogea) plants. J Appl Microbiol 102:1283–1129

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sato S, Peet MM, Thomas JF (2000) Physiological factors limit fruit set of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) under chronic, mild heat stress. Plant Cell Environ 23:719–726

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlenkera W, Roberts MJ (2009) Nonlinear temperature effects indicate severe damages to US crop yields under climate change. Proc Nat Acad Sci 106:15594–15598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seyed YSL, Rouhollah M, Mosharraf MH, Ismail MMR (2012) Water stress in plants: causes, effects and responses. In: Rahman IM, Hasegawa H (eds) Water stress. InTech Open Access, London, pp 1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh V, Nguyen CT, van Oosterom EJ, Chapman SC, Jordan DR, Hammer GL (2015) Sorghum genotypes differ in high temperature responses for seed set. Field Crops Res 171:32–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sirari K, Kashyap L, Mehta CM (2016) Stress management practices in plants by microbes. In: Singh DP et al (eds) Microbial inoculants in sustainable agricultural productivity. Springer, New Delhi, pp 85–99

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sun L, Zhang M, Ren J, Qi J, Zhang G, Leng P (2010) Reciprocity between abscisic acid and ethylene at the onset of berry ripening and after harvest. BMC Plant Biol 10:257

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Teveni M (2004) Plant responses to ultraviolet radiation stress. In: Advances in photosynthesis and respiration, vol 9. Springer, pp 605–621

    Google Scholar 

  • Valizadeh J, Ziaei SM, Mazloumzadeh SM (2014) Assessing climate change impacts on wheat production (a case study). J Saudi Soc Agric Sci 13:107–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Venkateswarlu B, Desai S, Prasad YG (2008) Agriculturally important microorganisms for stressed ecosystems: challenges in technology development and application. In: Khachatourian GG, Arora DK, Rajendran TP, Srivastava AK (eds) Agriculturally important micro-organisms, vol 1. Academic World, Bhopal, pp 225–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Verma JP, Jaiswal DK, Meena VS, Meena RS (2015) Current need of organic farming for enhancing sustainable agriculture. J Clean Prod 102:545–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayalakshmi D (2018) Abiotic stresses and its management in agriculture. TNAU Agritech, Coimbatore. 11 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Wahid A, Farooq M, Hussain I, Rasheed R, Galani S (2012) Responses and management of heat stress in plants. In: Ahmad P, Prasad MNV (eds) Environmental adaptations and stress tolerance of plants in the era of climate change. Springer, New York, pp 135–157

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wand SJE, Midgley GF, Jones MH, Curtis PS (2009) Responses of wild C4 and C3 grass (Poaceae) species to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration: a meta-analytic test of current theories and perceptions. Glob Change Biol 5:723–741

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warrington IJ, Fulton TA, Halligan EA, de Silva HN (1999) Apple fruit growth and maturity are affected by early season temperatures. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 124:468–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiebbecke CF, Graham MA, Cianzo SR, Palmer RG (2012) Day temperature influences the male – sterile locus ms9 in soybean. Crop Sci 52:1503–1510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson S, Davies WJ (2009) Drought, ozone, ABA and Ethylene: new insights from cell to plant to community. Plant Cell Environ 33:510–525

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson RF, Burke JJ, Quisenberry JE (1987) Plant morphological and biochemical responses to field water deficits. II. Responses of leaf glycerolipid composition in cotton. Plant Physiol 84:251–254

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Yadav GS, Lal R, Meena RS, Babu S, Das A, Bhomik SN, Datta M, Layak J, Saha P (2017) Conservation tillage and nutrient management effects on productivity and soil carbon sequestration under double cropping of rice in North Eastern Region of India. Ecol India. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X17305617

  • Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K, Shinozaki K (2006) Transcriptional regulatory networks in cellular responses and tolerance to dehydration and cold stresses. Ann Rev Plant Biol 57:781–803

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J (2016) Abiotic signaling and response in plants. Plant Cell 167:313–324

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the immense contributions of Mr. Akwarandu Augustine Udo and Mr. Anajekwu, Louis Obinayo of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, for their remarkable resource support to the success of this chapter.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

    Suarau O. Oshunsanya & Nkem J. Nwosu

  2. Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment and Agro-Product Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, China

    Yong Li

Authors
  1. Suarau O. Oshunsanya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nkem J. Nwosu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Farm Forestry, Sarguja University, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, India

    Manoj Kumar Jhariya

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Sarguja University, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, India

    Arnab Banerjee

  3. Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ram Swaroop Meena

  4. Department of Farm Forestry, Sarguja University, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, India

    Dhiraj Kumar Yadav

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Oshunsanya, S.O., Nwosu, N.J., Li, Y. (2019). Abiotic Stress in Agricultural Crops Under Climatic Conditions. In: Jhariya, M., Banerjee, A., Meena, R., Yadav, D. (eds) Sustainable Agriculture, Forest and Environmental Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6830-1_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation