Response of Crops to Heat Stress in a Warming World: Adaptation Measures under Sri Lankan Context.

Abstract

Rising temperatures impose heat stress for a wide variety of crops, negatively influencing their growth and development leading to yield losses. Each crop species has its own thermal thresholds at different growth stages beyond which all these processes get affected. Among different growth stages, reproductive stage has been found to be the most vulnerable to heat stress, and therefore, its influence on yield components is substantial. A comprehensive understanding of crop responses to heat stress has important implications for deciding suitable adaptation measures and for management options. This review provides an account of the influence of heat stress on the above processes giving special emphasis on the thermal thresholds of several crops. Further, conventional as well as potential novel approaches to heat stress adaptation, along with some management options to avert the impacts of high temperature stress in plants have been discussed in this chapter with regard to Sri Lankan context.