In recent years, the progressive escalation of climate change scenarios has emerged as a significant global concern. The threat to global food security posed by abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, waterlogging, temperature stress (heat stress, freezing, and chilling), and high heavy metal accumulation is substantial. The implementation of any of these stresses on agricultural land induces modifications in the morphological, biochemical, and physiological processes of plants, leading to diminished rates of germination, growth, photosynthesis, respiration, hormone and enzyme activity disruption, heightened oxidative stress, and ultimately, a reduction in crop productivity. It is anticipated that the frequency of these stresses will progressively escalate in the future as a result of a rise in climate change events. Therefore, it is crucial to develop productive strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of these challenges on the agriculture industry and improve crop resilience and yield. Diverse strategies have been implemented, including the development of cultivars that are resistant to climate change through the application of both conventional and modern breeding techniques. An additional application of the prospective and emerging technology of speed breeding is the acceleration of tolerance cultivar development. Additionally, plant growth regulators, osmoprotectants, nutrient and water management, planting time, seed priming, microbial seed treatment, and arbuscular mycorrhiza are regarded as effective methods for mitigating abiotic stresses. The application of biochar, kaolin, chitosan, superabsorbent, yeast extract, and seaweed extract are examples of promising and environmentally benign agronomic techniques that have been shown to mitigate the effects of abiotic stresses on crops; however, their exact mechanisms are still not yet fully understood. Hence, collaboration among researchers should be intensified to fully elucidate the mechanisms involved in the action of the emerging technologies. This review provides a comprehensive and current compilation of scientific information on emerging and current trends, along with innovative strategies to enhance agricultural productivity under abiotic stress conditions.

Vanilla planifolia is a commercially valued crop as it yields the natural vanilla flavour. However, due to its limited genetic diversity, hybrid production is difficult in V. planifolia. A feasible means to improve the V. planifolia genome is using gamma (γ) radiation. The M1V1 (10 Gy; First generation) ex vitro plant has improved increased vanillin concentration (μM) significantly (P<0.05) compared to control (0 Gy) in its leaves. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of γ radiation on the morphology of in vitro-generated M1V3 (mutation 1 in the third vegetative generation) V. planifolia plantlets. Initially, V. planifolia cuttings were exposed to four doses of gamma radiation (10, 30, 40, and 50 Gy) each with five replicates, and propagated ex vitro to generate M1V1 (first generation) and M1V2 (second generation) plants, followed by micropropagation of M1V2 explants. Morphological growth parameters like shoot height, root length, and number of leaves were recorded. There was only a significant difference (p < 0.05) in shoot height among the cultures at 10 days after culture (DAC), after which the height was not significantly different (p > 0.05) amongst the treatments throughout the experiment; 10 Gy was slightly higher. The increase in root per 10 DAC was significantly reduced in 10 Gy, while 30 Gy had the highest but insignificant compared to 0 Gy. Also, leaf number was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in both 30 Gy and 10 Gy at 100 DAC. Summarily, lower-dose γ radiation has a mild effect on the M1V3 V. planifolia morphology of in vitro plantlets. To our knowledge, this is the first report on in vitro studies of M1V3 V. planifolia.