Global climate change and increasing climatic variability are recently considered a huge concern worldwide due to enormous emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and its more apparent effect on fruit crops because of its perennial nature

1. Climate Change: Impact, Mitigation
and Adaptation in Fruit Crops
Dr Hem C Joshi

2. Introduction
 Global climate change and increasing climatic
variability are recently considered a huge
concern worldwide due to enormous emissions of
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and its
more apparent effect on fruit crops because of
its perennial nature.
 The changed climatic parameters affect the crop
physiology, biochemistry, floral biology, biotic
stresses like disease pest incidence, etc., and
ultimately resulted to the reduction of yield and
quality of fruit crops.
 Mitigation is the most important measures to
reduce the devastating effect of climate change.
Fruit crops are highly potential for carbon
sequestration.

5. Citrus
CITRUS FRUIT
PLANTS ARE
CONSIDERED TO BE
BETTER EQUIPPED
TO DEAL WITH A
CHANGING CLIMATE
BECAUSE THEY
FLOURISH IN THE
HEAT THAN OTHER
FRUIT CROPS.
LEMON CULTIVATION
AREA WILL SHRINK
BY AROUND 10
PERCENT, THAT IS A
SMALL SETBACK IN
COMPARISON TO
OTHER PLANT.
HIGH TEMPERATURE
AND HIGH
EVAPORATION
DURING FLOWERING
AND FRUIT SET
RESULT IN LOW
YIELD DUE TO
FLOWER AND FRUIT
DROP.
THE FRUITS HAVE
POOR COLOR IF THE
TEMPERATURE
DURING FRUIT
MATURATION IS
HIGH.
IN NAVEL ORANGES
THE CONTENT OF
ACIDITY WAS
AFFECTED BY LOW
TEMPERATURE
LEADING TO LOW
TSS CONTENT.
AMONG OTHER
CLIMATIC FACTORS
THE RAINFALL IN
SEPTEMBER AND
OCTOBER HAD AN
OBVIOUS EFFECT ON
THE FRUIT SOLUBLE
SOLIDS CONTENT
WHERE LESS
RAINFALL IN THIS
PERIOD INCREASED
THE SOLUBLE SOLIDS

7. Grapes
 Grapevines are damaged by frost if it
occurs during their active growth but
resting vines during winter are not
affected in north and central India.
 Similarly, high temperature above 45°C
causes thick skin of berries.
 Rainfall during flowering and fruiting is
detrimental. Increased humidity due to
prolonged rainfall makes fruits tasteless
and there is skin cracking.
 High night temperature reduces
anthocyanin accumulation in berry skin
which is due to low expression of
anthocyanin biosynthesizing genes and
enzymes.
 Reduced number of berries per cluster
due to high root temperatures.

9. Mango
WATER STRESS IS
KNOWN TO
INCREASE THE
FRUIT DROP IN
MANGO.
MANGO
PHENOLOGY IS
HIGHLY
INFLUENCED BY
VARIATIONS IN
TEMPERATURE
LIKE MOST OF
TROPICAL AND
SUB-TROPICAL
TREES FRUIT
CROPS, MANGO
HAS A
VEGETATIVE BIAS,
WHICH BECOMES
STRONGER WITH
INCREASING
TEMPERATURE.
EARLY
FLOWERING
UNDER THE
SUBTROPICS MAY
RESULT IN LOW
FRUIT-SET
BECAUSE OF
ABNORMALITIES
ARISING FROM
PREVAILING LOW
NIGHT
TEMPERATURES.
HIGH
TEMPERATURE BY
ITSELF IS NOT SO
INJURIOUS TO
MANGO, BUT IN
COMBINATION
WITH LOW
HUMIDITY AND
HIGH WINDS
AFFECTS THE
GROWTH OF THE
TREES
ADVERSELY.
HIGHER
TEMPERATURE
DURING FRUIT
DEVELOPMENT
HASTEN FRUIT
MATURITY AND
IMPROVE FRUIT
SIZE AND
QUALITY.
HOWEVER ,
PROLONGED
EXPOSURE OF
FRUITS AT TIME
AT NEAR
MATURITY TO
THE SUMMER SUN
WHEN
TEMPERATURES
EXCEED 350C MAY
CAUSE SUN
BURNING

11. Guava
Red colour development on the
peel of guava requires cool
nights during fruit maturation.
Varieties like Apple Colour,
which have attractive apple
skin colour under sub-tropical
conditions of North India, have
red spots on the skin under
tropical South Indian
conditions.
An increase of 0.2°C in
temperature resulted into
dramatic reduction in the
areas suitable for development
of red colour in guava; an
increase of 0.5°C in
temperature will reduce the
areas drastically with the
suitability probability of more
than 97% to a very low level.
Areas suitable for red colored
guava cultivation will be
reduced dramatically because
the minimum temperature
during the coldest month may
increase up to 1.9°C, whereas,
the mean temperature of the
coldest quarter will be 3.2°C
higher than the existing
temperature resulting in less
red colour development in
guava fruits.

12. Litchi
Litchi is essentially a sub-tropical fruit which require
protection from frost free winter and dry hot
summer.
The young plants of litchi require protection from
frost and hot desiccating winds otherwise their
growth and survival is affected. Bearing litchi trees
are affected by hot winds causing fruit skin cracking
and sun burn.
The observed temperature trends in the region of
litchi production (Bihar) showed a general increase
in temperature in order of 2-3°C overt the base
period of 50 years.
The unusual impact of climate change has been
witnessed in litchi production system as noted in
flowering pattern (shifted early), fruit growth and
harvesting periods.
The occurrence and the extent of damage by
physiological disorders and resurgence of pest are
very much dependent on the temperature and
humidity variations in the atmosphere.

13. Strategies for
mitigating
effect of
climate change
on sub-tropical
fruit crops

14. Various adaptation measures that can
be undertaken to cope with
future climate change includes.,
 Crop based adaptation through
adapting climate-ready crops or
rootstock
 Based on cropping pattern
including cropping systems,
intercropping, alternative crops,
crop diversification and relocation
of crops in alternative areas
 Adaptation based on
cultivars/varieties
a. Development of tolerant or
resistant
cultivars/varieties/rootstock
against climate change.
b. Planting different varieties or
crop species

15. Modifying crop
management
practices
 Modifying date of planting or date
of sowing, adjusting cropping
season and off seasonal production
& marketing of horticultural crops.
 Using sustainable, customized or
liquid fertilizer.
 Tillage practices to improve soil
drainage, zero tillage, etc.
 Implementing new or improving
existing irrigation systems like drip
irrigation.

16. Adopting new farm techniques, resource
conserving technologies (e.g. bagging of
fruits, fertigation, etc.).
 The bagging of mango fruits at marble stage
with brown paper and scurting bag gives
maximum fruit retention (%), while bagging
with newspaper bag give highest fruit weight
and fruit of newspaper and brown paper bags
are free from spongy tissue.
 Bagging of pomegranate fruits with prgmen
bags helped in reducing fruit cracking and
sunburn physiological disorders.
 Application of plastic mulch increased yield
percentage in papaya (64.24%), mango
(45.23%), banana (33.95%), ber (27.06%),
guava (25.93%), pineapple (14.63%) and
litchi (12.61%)

17. Use of antitranspirant like
chitosan, kaolin, etc. which
reflect the heat radiation from
plant parts, so they reduce the
water losses through transpiration
and reduce the temperature of
fruit and leaf surface and other
chemicals.
The treatment with
antitranspirant chitosan at 2%
gave significantly maximum
average finger weight, average
hand weight and bunch weight in
banana.
Other chemicals like Bordeaux
mixture are the best method for
reduction of frost damages on
grapes grown in moderate cold
climate as compared to other
frost reduction approaches

18. Wind breaks or shelter
belts which modified the
microclimate of orchard as
well as soil and windbreak
also provide shelter for
pollinating insects,
protect orchard from wind
erosion and other natural
disaster, etc.
The minimum mortality
percentage of fruit plants
affected by frost was
observed in orchards of
fruit crops surrounded by
wind breaks (2.97 to
30.81%), whereas in the
absence of these barrier
led to maximum mortality
(up to 91.43%) .
Weather forecasting and
crop insurance schemes
for farmers and Use of
GIS.
Recycling of wastewater
and solid wastes in
agriculture and use water
harvesting technologies