Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

Mechanistic insights and future perspectives of drought stress management in staple crops.

Khan AA, Wang YF, Akbar R, Alhoqail WA.

Front Plant Sci · 2025

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Summary

This review synthesises current mechanistic understanding of drought stress responses in staple crops, covering physiological and molecular pathways including osmotic adjustment, reactive oxygen species management, and abscisic acid signalling. It likely evaluates a range of management approaches — including agronomic, genetic, and biotechnological interventions — for improving drought resilience. The paper is positioned as a forward-looking resource identifying research gaps and practical strategies for securing staple crop productivity under increasingly water-limited conditions.

UK applicability

Whilst the review is international in scope and primarily oriented towards drought-vulnerable regions, its findings are increasingly relevant to UK arable systems as summer drought frequency rises under climate change projections; insights into crop stress physiology and management could inform UK variety selection and agronomic practice.

Key measures

Drought tolerance mechanisms (osmotic adjustment, antioxidant response, stomatal regulation); crop yield under water deficit; stress signalling pathways; management intervention efficacy

Outcomes reported

The review examines physiological, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms by which staple crops respond to drought stress, and evaluates current and emerging management strategies to mitigate yield losses under water deficit conditions.

Theme
Climate & resilience
Subject
Crop stress physiology & climate resilience
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
International
System type
Arable cereals
DOI
10.3389/fpls.2025.1547452
Catalogue ID
NRmo3f02hq-025

Topic tags

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