Insights into Different Mitigation Approaches for Abiotic Stress in Horticultural Plants

Abstract

Horticultural crop yield has declined significantly due to climate change. Various abiotic stresses cause adverse effects on the productivity of horticultural crops. Abiotic stressors adversely affect germination, vegetative growth, reproductive phase, and the quality of produce in such plants. Plants modulate physiological and biochemical indices to mitigate the adverse effects of abiotic stressors. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in the integration of different stress mitigants to mitigate the adverse effects of abiotic stress on horticultural crops. Different stress mitigants have the potential to enhance the tolerance against abiotic stresses by promoting root growth, leaf transpiration, seed germination, and antioxidant levels while decreasing the overproduction of toxic reactive oxygen species. The current review explores the important roles played by various signaling molecules, plant growth regulators (PGRs), and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in horticulture plants to ameliorate abiotic stress tolerance. Therefore, the goal of this study is to provide an overview of the evolving ideas in abiotic stress tolerance, focusing on the productivity of horticultural crops. It also describes the various roles of different stress mitigants utilized in plants under stress conditions. This review highlights the potential of integrated stress-mitigation strategies as sustainable tools for improving the resilience and productivity of horticultural crops under changing climatic conditions.