Fruit orchards under climate change conditions: adaptation strategies and management

Abstract

Under global warming and climate change conditions fruit orchards facing different environmental challenges which cause negative impacts on the growth and productivity of various fruit trees particularly in arid and semi-arid areas, various abiotic stress such as rising temperature, drought, heatwaves, and soil salinity represented a major challenge for growth and productivity of fruit orchards. Fruit trees used different strategies to cope with abiotic stress and minimize their adverse effects. Plants used different physiological, anatomical, and morphological mechanisms to tolerate abiotic stress, such as ion homeostasis, synthesis of more compatible solute, polyamines production, antioxidant regulation, closing stomata, in addition tol modification of root system, abscission of the leaves partially, compactness canopy, reducing leaf size, furthermore, under abiotic stress plants produce various organic solutes to cope with Reactive Oxygen solutes like Proline, in addition, using proper management practices that include providing adequate nutrients requirement particularly Potassium and Calcium, maintain soil moisture, using proper rootstocks tolerant for drought and salinity stress as well as exogenous application of plant growth substances could sustain orchards growth and productivity

Climate Change Challenges in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Fruit Tree Cultivation

“…Heat stress along with water stress can be also alleviated by the use of products containing reflecting agents as well as osmolytes (such as proline, glycine betaine, trehalose, mannitol, sorbitol, potassium products, etc.) [85,[103][104][105][106][107][108], strigolactones [100,109], salicylic acid [84,100,110,111], seaweed extracts [112], polyamines [84,113], abscisic acid (ABA) and other plant growth regulators [84,107,114], jasmonates [84,99], silicon [102], arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) along with endophytes, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and fungi (PGPF) (against drought stress) [94,112,115,116], superabsorbent polymers (SAP) or hydrophilic polymer gels in the soil [84,85], biochar as well as humate compounds incorporation in the soil (against water shortage) [107,117], and melatonin foliar application [96][97][98]118]. On the photo on the left-hand side, there is an earlier flower bud sprouting, and on the right-hand side, there is an earlier leaf emergence compared to the untreated control on the same apricot tree (from personal archive).…”

Orchard Management and Incorporation of Biochemical and Molecular Strategies for Improving Drought Tolerance in Fruit Tree Crops

“…Pomologists have proved that the canopy architecture can play a key role in the adaptation of trees to abiotic conditions [ 12 ]. When it comes to drought tolerance, dwarf cultivars with compact crowns are more tolerant to drought than the wide-crowned varieties and delay dehydration [ 29 ].…”

“…When it comes to drought tolerance, dwarf cultivars with compact crowns are more tolerant to drought than the wide-crowned varieties and delay dehydration [ 29 ]. In such a tree canopy, the leaf size is smaller, leading to a decrease in transpiration and improved energy saving [ 12 ]. High density crowns also protect the inner leaves from solar radiation and improve the microclimate in the tree crown [ 12 ].…”

“…In such a tree canopy, the leaf size is smaller, leading to a decrease in transpiration and improved energy saving [ 12 ]. High density crowns also protect the inner leaves from solar radiation and improve the microclimate in the tree crown [ 12 ].…”

“…Using drought-resistant species as rootstocks is one of the most optimal solutions to plant production in arid regions [ 11 ]. The tree canopy, for instance, plays an important role in tree adaptation to drought conditions, so dwarf cultivars with dense canopies are more resistant to water stress than broad-canopied cultivars [ 12 ]. Mulching can enhance the percentage of soil moisture and reduce water evaporation from the soil [ 13 ].…”