Osmotic adjustment is a prime drought stress adaptive engine in support of plant production

Abstract

Osmotic adjustment (OA) and cellular compatible solute accumulation are widely recognized to have a role in plant adaptation to dehydration mainly through turgor maintenance and the protection of specific cellular functions by defined solutes. At the same time, there has been an ongoing trickle of skepticism in the literature about the role of OA in supporting crop yield under drought stress. Contrarian reviews argued that OA did not sustain turgor or that it served mainly for plant survival rather than productivity. This critical review examined 26 published studies where OA was compared with yield under drought stress in variable genotypes of 12 crops, namely, barley, wheat, maize, sorghum, chickpea, pea, pigeon pea, soybean, canola, mustard, castor bean and sunflower. Over all crops a positive and significant association between OA and yield under drought stress were found in 24 out of 26 cases. Considering that it is generally difficult to find a singular plant trait responsible for yield advantage of numerous crops under different drought stress conditions, this evidence is no less than remarkable as proof that OA sustains crop yield under drought stress.

Keywords: drought resistance; plant breeding; review; roots; turgor; water use; yield.