Response of Perennial Horticultural Crops to Climate Change

Climate Change Impacts on Water Use in Horticulture

“…In general, climate scientists are projecting more frequent and severe storms and drought due to changes in atmospheric circulation [1]. In terms of horticulture, the authors of [2] and [3] discuss several potential effects of climate change on horticulture. In some cases, increasing CO 2 , temperature, humidity, and other greenhouse gases might be beneficial in regions where crop production is limited by cold temperatures due to (1) lower potential for frost damage, (2) faster growth, and (3) lengthened growing seasons.…”

“…Some possible climate change impacts on agriculture include (1) droughts, (2) floods, (3) faster phenological development, (4) inadequate chilling requirements, (5) pollination affected by rainfall and other extreme events, (6) frost and chill damage, (7) the spread of new insects and diseases, and (8) lower or higher yield and quality due to warming and water relations during summer [2,3]. One example of warming impacts is decreased winter chilling, which leads to bad pollination, staggered bloom, reduced fruit set, and poor fruit quality.…”

Climate adaptation in a minor crop species: is the cocoa breeding network prepared for climate change?

“…As a perennial fruit tree growing in the tropics, cocoa has a particular vulnerability to climate change, these are discussed in detail elsewhere (Glenn et al 2013;Läderach et al, 2013;Schroth, et al 2016). In brief, cocoa crops will need to withstand higher mean temperatures with an associated increase in drying from evapotranspiration, higher maximum temperatures that are close to the physiological tolerance of the plants, and more erratic precipitation events in particular instances of prolonged drought.…”

“…Studies suggest the major threat to cocoa production posed by progressive climate change is the high susceptibility of cocoa trees to drought and to the combined effects of hot and dry conditions (Läderach et al 2013), and there have been a number of calls to produce new cocoa varieties that are more resilient to drought (Carr and Lockwood 2011;Glenn et al 2013). Cocoa has also received special attention as a possible climate-smart crop, as it has long been grown as part of an agroforestry system that provides additional benefits through enhanced biodiversity and ecosystem services (including carbon sequestration) (Vaast and Somarriba 2014).…”

Residual Effects of Moisture Stressed Seedlings in the Nursery on Field Performance of Cacao Genotypes

“…In fact, plant stress 'memory', i.e. the structural, genetic, and biochemical modifications that have occurred because of stress exposure and which make water stress in comparison with non-previously stressed plants (Tyree et al, 2003, Glenn et al, 2014,Li et al 2016, Tombesia et al, 2018.…”