Impact of Drought Stress on Strawberry Production: A Review

Abstract

Drought is one of the catastrophic consequences of climate change, restricting crop production worldwide, and will pose a significant danger in the future. Turkey is one of the countries most affected by climate change, largely due to its geographical location and the region’s varying climatic conditions. Among the berries, the strawberry is one of the most commercially important crops since it has a highly adaptable growth ability and is rich in nutrient content, contributing to its steady rise in production and consumption globally. Depending on the developmental stage of the strawberry, drought stress causes morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular damage to the plant, resulting in significant yield and quality losses. To overcome this problem, it is essential to understand the mechanism by which plants respond to drought stress conditions. Determining drought-tolerant cultivars among existing cultivars and improving new strawberry cultivars tolerant to water stress through new breeding programs could be beneficial in managing the detrimental effects of drought stress on agricultural production. In this review, the importance of strawberry production and the effects of drought stress on strawberry production will be emphasized, referring to previous studies. This review could be beneficial for future studies aimed at developing new drought-tolerant strawberry cultivars.