Breeding and biotechnological interventions for mitigating drought in horticultural crops
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24154/jhs.v21i1.5253Keywords:
Artificial intelligence, climate resilience, drought tolerance, high-throughput phenotyping, multi-omics, transcription factors, translational researchAbstract
Drought is an escalating abiotic stress intensified by climate change, which is a major threat to the productivity of horticultural crops. Addressing the increasingly frequent water deficits requires shifting from generic mitigation approaches toward mechanistic understanding and targeted breeding and biotechnological interventions. This review synthesizes recent advances in drought resilience from fundamental research to field applications. At the molecular level, we analyze key genetic pathways, with the multi-omics integration and high-throughput phenotyping in trait discovery and validation. The review further discusses genomics-assisted breeding, genetic engineering and genome editing approaches that enable precise manipulation of drought-adaptive traits in horticultural crops. Complementary precision agronomic and technological interventions, when integrated with predictive modeling and precise data-driven decision-support tools, enhance the deployment and performance of drought-resilient genotypes under field conditions. We also highlight the translational research and policy initiatives as essential for overcoming socio-economic barriers for smallholder farmers. Ultimately, achieving enduring drought resilience requires the alignment of cutting-edge biotechnology with actionable policy and stakeholder-centric strategies.
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