Geogenic contamination of groundwater presents a substantial threat to the enduring production and sustainability of irrigated fruit orchards, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where over 60% of horticultural irrigation depends on groundwater sources. Groundwater quality is increasingly threatened by geogenic contamination, presenting a critical global issue. Geogenic contaminants, such as fluoride and arsenic, combined with agricultural practices and inadequate wastewater treatment, pose a significant threat to groundwater. Concentrations of elements including arsenic, fluoride, boron, iron, and sodium often exceed acceptable thresholds. For instance, arsenic (As) levels up to 0.5 ppm have been reported in parts of South Asia, far exceeding the WHO guidelines limit of 0.01 mg/L. Boron concentrations above 2.0 ppm and fluoride concentrations exceeding 1.5 ppm are prevalent in impacted aquifers. Pollution consequences are far reaching, impacting agricultural ecosystems and human health as polluted water infiltrates the food chain via irrigation. These challenges are compounded by climate change and water scarcity, which further strain water sources, including those used in agriculture. Addressing groundwater contamination requires a multi-faceted approach. Strategies include developing crops that can tolerate toxicants, improving irrigation techniques, and employing advanced wastewater treatment technologies. This study solidifies current knowledge concerning the uptake processes and physiological effects of various pollutants in fruit crops. This review emphasizes the synergistic toxicity of many pollutants, identifies gaps in knowledge in species-specific tolerance, and emphasizes the dearth of comprehensive mitigating frameworks. Potential solutions, such as salt-tolerant rootstocks, gypsum amendments, and alternative irrigation timing, are examined to enhance resilient orchard systems in geogenically challenged areas.

Plants rely heavily on a complex innate immune system to repel microbial attacks, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a crucial role as central immune modulators of their immune response. These small, structurally diverse molecules exhibit broad-spectrum activities against bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes through direct membrane disruption, interference with intracellular targets, and modulation of host signaling networks. Recent progress in multi-omics technologies, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, combined with synthetic biology, has led to a significant increase in our understanding of classification, biosynthetic pathways, structure-function relationships, and the regulatory integration of AMPs within pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI). Some of these latter tools accelerate rational peptide design and enable applications in agriculture: among others, transgenic crops possessing constitutive or pathogen-inducible AMP expression, as well as peptide-based agrochemicals, represent eco-friendly alternatives to classical pesticides. Despite such breakthroughs, major challenges persist that currently limit large-scale deployment: rapid pathogen evolution of resistance, insufficient target specificity, peptide instability under field conditions, potential phytotoxicity, and complex regulatory approval pathways. Such barriers will require integrated systems-biology approaches, improved delivery platforms, for example, nanotechnology or bioencapsulation, and precise engineering of AMP-host interactions. This review consolidates current information on plant AMPs, highlighting transformative multi-omics insights and critically assessing the remaining hurdles to be overcome for the full utilization of AMPs in next-generation sustainable crop protection and global food security.

Genome editing has emerged as a powerful tool in genomics field that offers precise and targeted genetic modifications at genetic levels. The various tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 and its analogous versions ZFN, TALENs, have significantly improved fruit crops for yield, quality traits, and stress resistance. Recent advances in CRISPR/Cas systems have accelerated the development of fruit crops with improved stress tolerance, fruit quality, and productivity. This review summarizes recent advances in genome-editing technologies for improving stress resistance, fruit quality, and productivity traits in fruit crops. Secondly, the review touches on the major challenges and ethical issues involved in releasing such technologies. The review also discusses regulatory concerns, biosafety issues, and challenges associated with commercialization of genome-edited fruit crops. The review further highlights the potential of genome editing for developing climate-resilient and sustainable horticultural production systems. Overall, genome-editing technologies provide significant opportunities for sustainable and climate-resilient horticultural crop improvement.