Innovative Strategies in Abiotic Stress Mitigation Using Plant Growth Regulators

Abiotic stresses, which include factors such as salinity, drought, and high temperatures, pose significant limitations to agricultural productivity by adversely affecting plant growth, yield, and food security. The escalating challenges brought by climate change and amplified environmental pressures underline the critical necessity for developing effective strategies to enhance plant resilience. Emerging as promising interventions are biostimulants, polyamines, and phytohormones, which have shown potential to modulate physiological, biochemical, and molecular plant processes, thereby ameliorating stress impacts. A thorough understanding of the crosstalk and interactions among these regulators is essential for converting physiological insights into practical agricultural solutions that promote sustainability.

This Research Topic aims to collate pioneering studies that focus on employing biostimulants, phytohormones, and polyamines to mitigate abiotic stress factors in plants. Emphasis will be laid on deciphering mechanisms of action as well as integrating diverse strategies to bolster plant tolerance. We invite investigations that deepen comprehension of the physiological and molecular foundations of plant resilience, as well as studies demonstrating the application of these findings in the field, with goals of enhancing resilience, optimizing resource use, and advancing agricultural sustainability.

To gather further insights into the mitigation of abiotic plant stresses, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Elucidation of physiological and molecular mechanisms mediated by phytohormones and polyamines in response to stress
• Interactions between hormonal signaling pathways, polyamines, and other biostimulants under conditions of salinity, drought, and heat stress
• Development and evaluation of new biostimulants and growth regulators aimed at multiple-stress tolerance
• Integrated studies at physiological, biochemical, and omics levels on the action of mitigators in different crop species
• Field trials testing the efficacy of biostimulants and regulators in enhancing agricultural resilience and productivity
• Impacts of using biostimulants and phytohormones on sustainability, quality, and the efficiency of water and nutrient use in agricultural systems

Original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that contribute to expanding understanding and applications for mitigating abiotic stresses are welcome. Descriptive studies lacking in mechanistic or integrative insights into plant response will not be considered for evaluation.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: plant biostimulants, abiotic stress, phytohormones, polyamines, plant stress resilience, agricultural sustainability, plant growth regulators, abiotic stress mitigation, climate change, drought stress, salinity stress, heat stress, crop science, plant physiology, molecular biology, hormonal crosstalk, signaling pathways, stress tolerance, crop yield, food security, sustainable agriculture, plant resilience, water use efficiency, nutrient use efficiency, integrated omics, plant biochemistry, multiple-stress tolerance, field trials, crop productivity, signal transduction, gene expression, plant adaptation, environmental stress, osmotic stress, temperature stress

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.