Climate Change as an Existential Threat to Tropical Fruit Crop Production—A Review

Abstract

Climate change is an emerging threat to global food and nutritional security. The tropical fruits such as mango, bananas, passionfruit, custard apples, and papaya are highly sensitive to weather changes especially; changes of monsoon onset and elevated temperature are influencing crop growth and production. There is a need for more specific studies concerning individual crops and regional variations. Long-term effects and interactions of weather parameters and increased concentration of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, with phenological stages of the plant, pests, and diseases remain understudied, while adaptation strategies require further exploration for comprehensive understanding and effective mitigation. Few researchers have addressed the issues on the effect of climate change on tropical fruits. This paper focuses on the impact of abiotic (temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, evaporation, carbon dioxide concentration) and biotic (pest and pathogens dynamics) factors affecting the fruit crop ecosystem. These factors influence flowering, pollination, fruit set, fruit yield and quality. This review paper will help develop adaptive strategies, policy interventions and technological innovations aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of climate change on tropical fruit production and safeguarding global food and nutritional security.

Keywords

• fruit quality
• pest and pathogen dynamics
• phenology
• pollination
• weather
• yield