Special Issue on “Cereals and Stress tolerance”

World food security depends on cereal production and ways to increase cereal grain production under stressful environments have a higher significance. Climate change is increasingly exposing cereals to multiple environmental stresses such as salinity, drought, extreme temperatures, chemical toxicity, and oxidative stress threatening their production around the world. In addition, poor edaphic conditions like pH, soil compaction, soil contamination and, higher UV radiation, air and soil pollution, nutrient deficiency, rapid rehydration during seed germination are though less noticeable, are also affecting productivity. All these stresses are affecting grain number which is the main yield component directly associated with grain yield and thus it represents a serious global problem warranting newer approaches in cereal breeding.  Interactions of these stresses are complex and poorly understood, therefore, research tackling multiple stresses induced through changing climate and management is critical and timely. Much research has been done on abiotic stress tolerance in cereals, and many tolerant varieties have been released, however many aspects are still unknown and require further evaluation. The scientific community makes efforts to understand plant tolerance mechanisms and the genetics behind them, and has provided valuable information that breeders utilize in their breeding programs to create tolerant cultivars and hybrids.
 
In this context,  Journal of Cereal Research is pleased to announce a special issue on “Cereals and Stress tolerance”. The issue will publish reviews, opinions, research articles, and short communication on cereal crop research covering stress tolerance mechanisms/responses on single or combined stresses under controlled or field conditions and stress mitigation strategies to increase grain production.

 Key Words

• Salinity
• Drought
• Heat
• Lodging
• Cold/freezing
• Waterlogging
• Radiation
• High carbon dioxide & ozone
• Soil compaction
• Nutrient deficiencies/toxicities
• Physiological, biochemical and morphological mechanisms related to stress tolerance

Hadi Pirasteh-Anosheh

National Salinity Research Center (NSRC), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Yazd, Iran

Marco Race
University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino, Italy
 

Munir Ozturk
Department of Botany, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey

Gholamhassan Ranjbar
National Salinity Research Center (NSRC), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Yazd, Iran