Millets: Physiological Mechanisms for Climate Resilience and Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Climate change threatens global agriculture, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where water scarcity, heat stress, and poor soils undermine crop productivity. Millets, as resilient C₄ cereal crops, exhibit physiological and biochemical traits that allow them to adapt to extreme environmental stresses. Their efficient photosynthetic mechanism enhances water and nitrogen use efficiency, enabling them to produce biomass under limited resources. Stress tolerance mechanisms such as deep rooting, osmotic adjustment, and the synthesis of heat shock proteins and molecular chaperones enhance their survival under drought, heat, and salinity. Millets also display cross-tolerance through shared stress-signaling pathways. In addition to their resilience, millets are nutritionally rich and health-promoting bioactive compounds, making them valuable for combating malnutrition. Recent genomic advancements have further enabled the identification of key genes and loci associated with stress responses and nutrient efficiency, facilitating the development of improved cultivars through marker-assisted selection.