The abiotic stresses, such as drought, waterlogging, heat, cold, and salinity, cause significant crop yield losses associated with extremes of moisture and temperature and ion imbalance. The occurrence of these conditions is being aggravated by climate change, global warming, and industrial pollution. It is crucial to safeguard food security through a constant and sustainable crop production system under multiple abiotic stresses. The cultivation of climate-resilient varieties is one of the best strategies being followed across diverse agroecosystems in the world including India to mitigate the impact of abiotic stress on crop production. Indian agricultural institutional network under the umbrella of the National Agriculture Research System developed a good number of abiotic stress-tolerant varieties across the field and horticultural crops. However, only a few crops varieties introgression with SUB1 gene and salinity tolerant QTLs are being cultivated largely in the areas prone to submergence and salinity stress, respectively. In this book chapter, we have updated the status of abiotic stress tolerance crop varieties (ASTCVs) along with stress-wise trend analysis to disseminate information among farmers, students, scientists, and policymakers involved in abiotic stress management. Finally, we also discussed the strategies to reorient the breeding program to develop climate-smart varieties with multiple biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.

Weed infestation and drought stress are major biotic and abiotic constraints to global agricultural productivity, causing substantial yield losses and escalating management costs. Weeds alone contribute to an predicted annual economic loss of USD32 billion, while drought can reduce crop productivity by nearly 50%, posing a serious threat to food security. In the perspective of Sustainable Development Goals SDG-2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG-13 (Climate Action), this 2-year study (2022–2023) evaluated the impact of drought stress on the efficacy of the herbicide (clodinafop + metsulfuron) against the weeds Phalaris minor and Medicago denticulata in wheat (Triticum aestivum). Herbicide was applied to well-watered (WW) and drought-stressed (DS) environments, 10 days after irrigation was withheld in the DS treatments. Results indicated a significant reduction in herbicide efficacy under DS, with a greater reduction observed against M. denticulata, leading to poor weed management. The survival of weeds under DS conditions elevated oxidative stress in wheat, particularly in the presence of M. denticulata, which caused higher reactive oxygen species accumulation and greater yield losses compared with P. minor. A clear association was observed between weed biomass, oxidative damage, and yield reduction. The findings highlight that wheat is more vulnerable to M. denticulata under drought, emphasizing the need to consider environmental interactions in designing effective and climate-resilient weed management strategies.