6 R. Mahalingam
1.3 Which Combination of Stresses to Study?
This begs the question which combination of stresses to study. As indicated earlier,
plants are continually challenged by diverse array of biotic and abiotic agents from
seed germination to senescence. We can envisage considering those stresses that
are most likely to co-occur under field conditions and whose combined impact can
adversely affect the final yield.
Stress Matrix Approach Mittler and coworkers have advocated the use of a stress
matrix showing different combinations of potential environmental stresses that can
affect crops. The use of colors to indicate potential positive and negative interactions
provides a visually appealing schema for depicting combined stresses (Fig. 1.3). It
Fig. 1.3 The stress matrix. Different combinations of potential environmental stresses that can
affect crops in the field are shown in the form of a matrix. The matrix is color-coded to indicate
stress combinations that were studied with a range of crops and their overall effect on plant growth
and yield. References for these studies are given in the text and in Table 1.1. (Adapted from Suzuki
et al. ( 2014 ) and modified from Mittler ( 2006 ))