Rapid urbanization and land-use transition contribute to the rise in the
thermal scale of cities as well as small towns and villages worldwide. The equilibrium
between the incoming solar energy and the outgoing terrestrial energy regulates the
temperature. Nevertheless, the temperature, as we know, varies from place to place,
and it also affects the natural processes as well as surrounding flora and fauna. On the
other hand, temperature beyond the physiologically optimal limit is called high
temperature that adversely affects the growth and development of plants as it has
significant impacts on both the vegetative and reproductive phases of the plant life
cycle. The extremely high temperature is referred to as heat stress which is reported as
one of the devastating abiotic stressors. In plants, heat stress triggers various morphophysiological changes in plants that affect their growth and economic outcomes via
accelerating reactive oxygen species generation, reduced carbon assimilation,
degradation and denaturation of proteins, lipid peroxidation of membranes, etc. Several
conventional and modern strategies have been employed to resolve heat stress-induced
damages in plants. Therefore, the present work is an outcome of extensive literature
focused on the factors responsible for temperature variations’ patterns, morphophysiological responses of crops, and impacts on the economic yields of edible plants.
Keywords: Heat stress, Germination, Growth and development, Physiological
responses, Sustainable crop production.
