Optimizing Photosynthetic Efficiency for Sustainable Crop Production in Varied Climatic Conditions

Global food security is increasingly challenged by climate change, environmental degradation, and the need for sustainable agricultural practices. Photosynthesis, the fundamental driver of plant growth and productivity, is highly sensitive to environmental fluctuations such as temperature shifts, water availability, and varying light conditions. Understanding how crops regulate and optimize photosynthetic efficiency under diverse climatic scenarios is crucial for improving agricultural resilience, ensuring stable yields, and enhancing the quality of harvested products.

Significant progress has been made in improving photosynthetic efficiency through genetic, physiological, and agronomic approaches. However, gaps remain in our understanding of how multiple environmental factors interact to influence photosynthetic performance at different levels—from molecular mechanisms to whole-crop physiology. Additionally, advancements in controlled environment agriculture, precision farming, and climate-smart cropping systems provide new opportunities to enhance photosynthetic productivity in a sustainable manner.

This Research Topic aims to explore the physiological, biochemical, and genetic mechanisms regulating photosynthesis in crops under diverse environmental conditions. We invite contributions that examine how different cultivation techniques, environmental factors, and physiological regulations influence crop photosynthesis, yield, and product quality. Research providing novel insights into sustainable strategies to optimize photosynthetic efficiency for improved food security is particularly welcome.

We encourage submissions in various article formats, including original research, reviews, methods, perspectives, and meta-analyses, covering topics such as:

- Regulation of photosynthesis in crops under varying climatic conditions (e.g., temperature stress, water availability, and light fluctuations)

- Interactions between photosynthesis and environmental factors affecting crop growth and productivity

- Physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying photosynthetic efficiency and crop yield

- Advances in controlled environment agriculture and their impact on photosynthetic optimization

- Crop breeding and genetic modifications to improve photosynthetic efficiency and stress resilience

- Integration of physiological models to predict crop responses to climate variability

- Innovative agronomic practices and cultivation techniques to enhance photosynthetic efficiency and resource use efficiency

Keywords: photosynthetic efficiency, crop physiology, environmental stress, sustainable agriculture, climate adaptation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.