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Abstract Global crop production faces increasing threats from the rise in frequency, duration, and intensity of drought and heat stress events due to climate change. Most staple food crops, including wheat, rice, soybean, and corn that provide over half of the world’s caloric intake, are not well adapted to withstand heat or drought. Efforts to breed or engineer stress-tolerant crops have had limited success due to the complexity of tolerance mechanisms and the variability of agricultural environments. Effective solutions require a shift towards fundamental research that incorporates realistic agricultural settings and focuses on practical outcomes for farmers. This review explores the genetic and environmental factors affecting heat and drought tolerance in major crops, examines the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying these stress responses, and evaluates the limitations of current breeding programs and models. It also discusses emerging technologies and approaches that could enhance crop resilience, such as synthetic biology, advanced breeding techniques, and high-throughput phenotyping. Finally, this review emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research and collaboration with stakeholders to translate fundamental research into practical agricultural solutions.
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This content will become publicly available on March 1, 2026
Harnessing phytochemicals in sustainable and green agriculture
In the face of escalating global temperatures, the agricultural industry needs more sustainable options to combat increasing pest persistence while meeting the demands of the growing population. Phytochemicals offer a promising organic alternative to synthetic pesticides by improving crop yields and providing pest specificity that reduces harm to humans or wildlife. By harnessing these naturally occurring diverse compounds, we can enhance pest control measures while ensuring environmental safety. However, thus far, comprehensive discussions on the potential, recent advancements, innovative applications, and limitations of phytochemicals in pest control remain limited. No studies have yet fully explored the vast versatility of phytochemical applications in both field and research models, encompassing innovative methods such as essential oils, cover cropping, intercropping, and allelopathy, which can offer pest resistance at various stages of crop production. In this review, we draw on research from the past decade to comprehensively discuss the challenges and urgent need for organic farming, the diverse applications of phytochemicals in pest control, and the current limitations in this field. We also highlighted that phytochemicals represent an underutilized resource for organic biocontrol, deserving greater attention for their potential to expand agricultural markets and create organic solutions that benefit farmers, consumers, and wildlife alike. Given the increasing demand for organic food to enhance human health, this review is both timely and essential. It makes significant contributions to agricultural and food science by offering practical insights and sustainable solutions for effective pest management.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2318746
- PAR ID:
- 10621125
- Publisher / Repository:
- Science Direct
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Agriculture and Food Research
- Volume:
- 19
- Issue:
- C
- ISSN:
- 2666-1543
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 101633
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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