Impact of Heat Coupled with Drought Stress on Plants

Abstract

Various stages of plant growth and development could greatly be affected by abiotic stresses. Among them, two significant abiotic stressors, including drought and heat, hinder crops’ vegetative or reproductive growth stages, which in turn affect sustainable agriculture worldwide. The incidence of drought coupled with heat stress is increasing mainly due to global climate change. It was proved that the effect of drought coupled with heat stress is additive when compared to individual stresses. This chapter focuses on the influence of common dual-stress heat coupled with drought stress on plants. A critical understanding of how different plants respond to heat coupled with drought stress would pave the way to developing suitable agronomic management practices for better crop genotypes with improved productivity.