Resumen
- Drought stress is a major challenge for agriculture as it negatively affects crop productivity due to the imbalance between plant water demand and soil moisture availability. Some plants could respond to drought by initiating various physiological processes that allow them to develop tolerance to these conditions involving various adaptive mechanisms, including morphological changes such as smaller leaf surfaces and deeper root systems. However, while these adaptations help plants survive, they often lead to reduced growth and yield. To face this challenge, which could be exacerbated with climate change, crop breeding takes advantage of the natural diversity harbored in wild relatives and landraces to improve drought tolerance and obtain better yields under such conditions. Physiological measurements using advanced phenotyping tools, including RGB imaging and physiological measurements such as photosynthesis and root morphology analysis, allow the identification of drought-tolerant traits. The use of quantitative evaluations improves the selection efficiency in breeding strategy for drought stress tolerance, facilitating the inclusion of physiological measurements into multi-trait index.