Understanding heat tolerance in vegetables: Physiological and molecular insights, and contemporary genomic approaches for enhancing heat stress resilience

The increasing threat of heat stress in agriculture, fueled by the relentless rise in global temperatures, presents a formidable challenge for vegetable crops. High-temperature stress instigates intricate morphological, anatomical, and physiological changes in vegetables, resulting in a noticeable decline in yield and an overall compromise in quality. Mitigating these challenges necessitates the imperative development of heat-tolerant vegetable varieties, underscoring the need for a nuanced understanding of crop responses to the rigors of high-temperature stress. This comprehensive review systematically explores the multifaceted impacts of heat stress on vegetable crops, spanning morphological traits, physiological processes, and molecular dynamics. Beyond the identification of challenges, the review explores into the intricate adaptive mechanisms employed by vegetables to counteract the stresses imposed by elevated temperatures, besides exploring in detailed how these crops navigate and respond to the physiological disruptions caused by heat stress. Further, it also assesses the efficacy of diverse genomic approaches in the development of heat-tolerant vegetable varieties. In addition, the review explores genomic tools such as genomic selection, transgenic approaches, and genome editing technologies, which hold promise in expediting the development of vegetable varieties endowed with enhanced thermo-tolerance and heightened productivity. By synthesizing insights from diverse scientific realms, the review aspires to provide a comprehensive and integrative perspective on mitigating the adverse impacts of heat stress on vegetable crops, paving the way for sustainable agricultural practices in the face of escalating global temperatures.