Drought stress trumps heat stress in impacting tomato growth and sustainability
Drought stress had a bigger impact on three types of tomatoes than heat stress. The researchers studied how drought and heat stress affected the growth and leaf health of the tomatoes. They found that all three types of tomatoes suffered when exposed to drought and combined stress, with decreased growth and leaf health. One type of tomato was more affected by heat stress, while the other two were more affected by drought stress. Interestingly, when both drought and heat stress were applied together, the tomatoes showed similar responses to just drought stress. This suggests that selecting tomatoes for combined stress tolerance may not be the same as selecting for single stress tolerance. Overall, the study shows that drought stress has a stronger effect on tomatoes than heat stress.