Fig. 4. Effects of climate change on seed vigor and possible approaches to amend it for ensuring vigorous crops.

Stressors associated with climate change such as temperature and moisture extremes reduce seed vigor. If these stressors are present during seed filling, they can lead to seed variation and deep primary dormancy. During storage, they can cause residual dormancy and excess aging and during germination, they lead to thermoinhibition and delayed/variable germination. Each of these effects can reduce the viability and performance of a seed lot, reducing yield. Breeding for climate-resilient cultivars is likely to improve seed vigor in the face of climate change stressors. Manipulating genetic factors associated with dormancy provides an avenue for breeding climate change-resilient crops and may be used to directly alleviate deep primary dormancy, residual dormancy, and thermoinhibition. Manipulation of genes associated with seed longevity such as certain annexins and miRNAs can reduce excess aging. Seed priming can help remove residual dormancy and thermoinhibition and can improve the speed and uniformity of seedling establishment. Improved seed testing will better inform farmers, allowing them to more accurately predict the field performance of a seed lot and plan sowing density accordingly.