ABSTRACT
The global average surface temperature will rise by 1.5–2°C by the end of this century (Field 2014), which is likely to result in adverse episodes of extreme weather (cold or hot temperature) and changes in rainfall pattern (Fischer and Knutti 2015). This expected climate change will increase the incidence of abiotic stresses (heat, cold, drought, salinity, and waterlogging), which may result in huge losses in crop yield (Deryng et al. 2014; Loreti et al. 2016). Globally, ~34 Mha of irrigated land is affected by salinity, while salt and waterlogging combined affect 60 to 80 Mha (FAO 2011). High salinity is displacing 1.5 Mha of productive land annually (Munns and Tester 2008). Likewise, around 63.5 Mha of arable land is affected by drought (Narciso and Hossain 2002). Furthermore, heat stress, cold stress, salinity, and drought cause estimated yield losses of 40%, 15%, 17%, and 20%, respectively, with 8% from other factors (Ashraf and Harris 2005).
