Climate Change and Its Impact on the Phenology of Major Vegetable Crops: A Review

Abstract

Climate change is altering the environmental conditions that regulate the growth and development of vegetable crops, with important consequences for crop phenology, productivity and quality. This review examines the effects of rising temperature, heat stress, altered precipitation, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, drought and changing winter chilling on the phenological behaviour of major vegetable crops. It synthesises evidence from peer-reviewed studies, climate assessment reports, crop physiology investigations and modelling studies published over the past three decades. Particular attention is given to solanaceous vegetables, cole crops, root and bulb vegetables, cucurbits and leguminous vegetables. The review highlights that warming generally accelerates vegetative development by increasing thermal time accumulation, but that it may simultaneously reduce reproductive success by impairing flowering, pollen viability, fertilisation, fruit set, tuber formation, curd development and harvest duration. Cool-season crops are especially vulnerable to reduced chilling and disrupted vernalisation, whereas warm-season crops may tolerate moderate warming but remain sensitive to heat stress during reproductive stages. Climate-induced changes also affect crop quality traits, including colour development, sugar-acid balance, antioxidant compounds, pungency and storage attributes. In addition, altered crop phenology may change the timing and severity of pest and disease pressure. Adaptation options discussed include heat-tolerant cultivar development, adjustment of sowing and transplanting dates, protected cultivation, mulching, improved irrigation scheduling and decision-support tools based on weather and phenological monitoring. The review identifies important research gaps, particularly the limited availability of long-term phenological data for tropical and subtropical vegetable systems, insufficient multi-stress experiments and limited understanding of crop quality responses under future climates. Strengthening these areas will be necessary for improving the resilience of vegetable production under changing climatic conditions.