Since 1900, more than two billion people have been affected by drought worldwide, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Drought affects crops by limiting the amount of water available for optimal growth and development, thereby lowering productivity. It is one of the major abiotic stresses responsible for variability in crop yield, driving significant economic, environmental and social impacts.
A new technical manual, “Management of drought stress in field phenotyping,” provides a quantitative approach to drought stress phenotyping in crops. Phenotyping is a procedure vital to the success of crop breeding programs that involves physical assessment of plants for desired traits.
