Breeding for drought tolerance in cereals [electronic resource]: an overview.

Includes reference.

Drought is among the most serious abiotic stresses in many parts of the world where cereal crops are essential human food source. Breeding cereals for such stress tolerance is strongly challenging the breeders' efforts where difficulties are compounded by the complexity of crop yield on the genetic and physiological bases. For cereal plants, drought tends to develop slowly under field conditions as the soil dries. Plants that are subjected to drought stress in such gradual manner accumulate solutes that maintain cell hydration and undergo complex adjustments in their morphology and photosynthetic characteristics. Many investigators explained the plant response to drought through escape, avoidance, and/or tolerance mechanisms. Substantial cooperative efforts among physiologists and breeders have been devoted toward understanding and manipulating such complex of morpho-physiological traits for better sustainable crop performance under stress.

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