Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ABSTRACT
Vegetable crops are playing pivotal role in ensuring food, nutritional and
livelihood security due to their high production per unit area and time be-
sides high level of biologically active compounds that impart health ben-
efits beyond basic nutrients. High intake of vegetables has been associ-
ated with a lesser incidence of degenerative diseases. With the increasing
health consciousness among masses, demand for these crops is rising day
by day. In order to enhance their suitability beyond fresh, efforts are go-
ing on to develop bioactive compound rich varieties in respective crops so
as to harness their industrial potential. These compounds have also been
reported to enhance storability and delays senescence. Abrupt rise and fall
in temperature due to Climate change will definitely pose a threat to pro-
duction and productivity of perishable vegetable crops besides disturbing
their endogenous biochemical level and taste. The cool season vegetables
are more sensitive to adverse weather than warm season. Abiotic stresses
like extreme temperature (low/high), soil salinity and drought are detri-
mental for vegetable production. Thus, high temperatures and limited soil
moisture are the major causes of low yields in vegetables. The different
development phases like vegetative growth, flowering and fruit develop-
ment are significantly influenced by climatic vagaries. The effects of the
elevated temperature, unpredictable and irregular precipitation can disrupt
the normal growth and development of plant that ultimately affect the crop
productivity. It is projected that Crop yields will decline in Asia by 2.5-
10% from 2020 onwards and by 5-30% after 2050. However, this decline
is further expected to compound in South and Central Asia.
Concerning the possible impact of climatic change on vegetable pro-
duction as well as national economy, a holistic approach is required to
over stress tolerance rather than a single method. A systems approach,
where all available options are considered in an integrated manner, will
be effective and sustainable under a variable climate. For this to succeed,
adequate and long-term funding is necessary, scientific results have to be
delivered, best approaches has to be used so as to deliver global public
goods for impact involving public and private sector together. In order to
mitigate adverse effect of climate change it is necessary to identify germ-
plasm of vegetable crops tolerant to drought, high temperature and other
environmental stresses. Besides, this must also have ability to maintain
yield in marginal soils to serve as sources of these traits for both public and
