Enhancing Crop Protection and Yield Through Crop Improvement for Climate Change Resilience: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Climate change poses a significant threat to global food security by altering temperature and precipitation patterns, leading to increased pest and disease pressure on crops. To mitigate these challenges and ensure sustainable agricultural production, it is crucial to enhance crop protection and yield through innovative strategies. Climate change significantly impacts crop protection and yields. Reducing growth periods and yields, rising temperatures accelerate maturation. Heat-sensitive crops like wheat and rice suffer. Water scarcity from erratic rainfall threatens irrigation, while excess leads to soil erosion. Pests and pathogens changing behavior and proliferate with warmer climates, increasing crop vulnerability. Soil health is compromised by extreme weather, affecting productivity. As we address food security concerns, innovative approaches to crop improvement hold the key to ensuring sustainable agricultural system. Molecular approaches and breeding strategies are revolutionizing crop improvement. Techniques like marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomics selection enable precise trait selection, enhancing yield and quality. Genome editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 allows for targeted genetic modifications, overcoming traditional breeding’s limitations. These methods facilitate rapid development of crop varieties with desired traits like disease resistance and nutritional value. Trait pyramiding combines multiple beneficial genes, while RNA interference (RNAi) and epigenetic modifications offer additional layers of control over gene expression. Integrating these with multi-omics approaches provides a holistic view of plant responses, further refining breeding strategies. By analysing the latest scientific literature, this review aims to highlight the importance of implementing adaptive measures to address the challenges posed by climate change and ensure food security for future generations.