By David Jíménez-Arias, Sarai Morales-Sierra, Patrícia Silva, Henrique Carrêlo, Adriana Gonçalves, José Filipe Teixeira Ganança, Nuno Nunes, Carla S. S. Gouveia, Sónia Alves, João Paulo Borgesand Miguel Â. A. Pinheiro de Carvalho – Published by Plants 2023 – December 22, 2022
The United Nations has set 17 goals for global sustainable development. The second goal is zero hunger by 2030. To achieve this, agricultural production must be doubled, but some studies indicate that yield developments are currently not sufficient to reach this goal [1]. One of the different reasons for this is climate change. Heat waves, heavy rainfall, and rising sea levels are predicted for the 21st century, with drought, floods, and salinization among the most critical consequences for food production [2]. Today, abiotic stress in plants is the principal cause of severe yield losses of 50–80%, depending on the crop and geographical location [3]. This is a primordial problem to solve in the upcoming years. This alarming situation is an excellent opportunity for plant scientists to apply their knowledge in an interdisciplinary way in agriculture to increase productivity under abiotic stress [4].