 Corresponding author: Domenico Prisa Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0. Plant resistance to abiotic stresses Domenico Prisa * CREA Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Via dei Fiori 8, 51012 Pescia, PT, and Italy. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2023, 08(02), 067–073 Publication history: Received on 02 February 2023; revised on 11 March 2023; accepted on 14 March 2023 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/ijsra.2023.8.2.0219 Abstract Environmental phenomena often create stressful situations for plants, significantly impacting their metabolism. This can lead to development problems and, thus, drops in production and final quality. Depending on the plant, biotic and abiotic stresses can reduce average plant productivity by up to 90%. Abiotic stresses, in particular, are linked to environmental factors that are indispensable for development and production but can become limiting under certain conditions. For example, water is essential for plant growth in water stress, but deficiency can cause severe damage, as can excess, leading to water stagnation and root asphyxia, compromising final yield. All environmental factors, under extreme conditions, can be dangerous for crops, so it is necessary to know all the physiological aspects to which plants are subjected, which come into play following stress, to control it better. Keywords: Abiotic stress; Heat stress; Light intensity; Plant growth; Resilience 1. Introduction In agriculture, abiotic stresses are defined as environmental pressures that can reduce the potential productivity of plants. In agricultural production, environmental stresses of various kinds are considered the main factor that can affect quality. Stress related to sudden changes in temperature, light intensity, nutrient resources change from optimal values, plant damage can occur and, in the worst cases, lead to plant death [1-2]. Abiotic stresses cause a significant reduction in production potential and can cause major losses. The stresses that can cause the most damage and on which research is working to implement genetic improvement strategies are those induced by salinity, water shortages, thermal stresses, and the depletion of nutrient resources [3]. Undoubtedly one of the stresses that cause problems from an agronomic point of view is that of hypoxic conditions, which are often caused by prolonged flooding of the soil, excessive concentrations of nutrients or heavy metals, damage caused by rain or wind, or the mechanical stresses to which flowers and fruit are subjected during processing and storage [4-5]. Other critical stresses can be those related to the time of germination or transplanting or the reduction of the volume of soil or substrate, the high cultivation densities often found in greenhouses. In several cases, stress is linked to other stresses, the interaction of which may cause more significant damage [6]. Stresses can be divided into various levels according to their importance primary, secondary and tertiary. In cold stress, the leading cause is undoubtedly the sudden drop in temperature, which is associated with water imbalance. On the other hand, water stress appears as a secondary cause in high temperatures, which is often associated with tertiary nutritional stress. In many cases, there is a combination of biotic and abiotic stresses occurring at the same time. Fungal attacks, which can lead to water stress due to blockages in xylem flow, result in plant death [7-8]. In many cases, on the other hand, plants are more susceptible to disease when optimal soil temperatures or substrates are not present, resulting in increased root death, for example. The degree of perception of environmental stimuli and adaptation to various types of stress varies in each plant species [9]. Indeed, adaptation involves hormonal changes that may increase