Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design

Autores
Vannay, Gustavo J.; Otegui, María Elena; Capella, Matías; Chan, Raquel Lía
Año de publicación
2026
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
The concept of stress memory has attracted increasing attention due to its potential implications for crop improvement. However, empirical support for the existence and benefits of this phenomenon, particularly within the context of intragenerational stress memory, remains scarce. In this review article, we critically examined the current understanding of drought memory, posing critical questions such as: Does it truly exist? How long does it last? Is it beneficial for crops? Besides the fact that these questions cannot be fully answered with the currently available evidence, our analysis reveals a significant methodological deficiency in many published experiments. Specifically, a common experimental design compares plants subjected to a single water deficit episode against those experiencing two, without adequately considering confounding variables such as the reduced size and water consumption of primed plants. We underscore this fundamental flaw to promote the use of more rigorous experimental protocols and propose different strategies to overcome this issue. Future research employing these revised methods will be better positioned to elucidate whether stress memory provides a genuine adaptive benefit and to determine the endurance of this protective effect.
EEA Pergamino
Fil: Vannay, Gustavo J. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina
Fil: Otegui, María Elena. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Manejo de Cultivos; Argentina
Fil: Otegui, María E. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Otegui, María E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Capella, Matías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina
Fil: Chan, Raquel L. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina
Fuente
Plant Science 364 : 112929. (March 2026)
Materia
Manejo del Cultivo
Sequía
Sequía Agrícola
Estrés de Sequia
Crop Management
Drought
Agricultural Drought
Drought Stress
Crops
Cultivos
Drought Memory
Drought Primed Plants
Crop Stress Memory
Crop Drought Memory
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso restringido
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
oai:localhost:20.500.12123/25524
Acceder
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oai_identifier_str oai:localhost:20.500.12123/25524
network_acronym_str INTADig
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network_name_str INTA Digital (INTA)
spelling Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental designVannay, Gustavo J.Otegui, María ElenaCapella, MatíasChan, Raquel LíaManejo del CultivoSequíaSequía AgrícolaEstrés de SequiaCrop ManagementDroughtAgricultural DroughtDrought StressCropsCultivosDrought MemoryDrought Primed PlantsCrop Stress MemoryCrop Drought MemoryThe concept of stress memory has attracted increasing attention due to its potential implications for crop improvement. However, empirical support for the existence and benefits of this phenomenon, particularly within the context of intragenerational stress memory, remains scarce. In this review article, we critically examined the current understanding of drought memory, posing critical questions such as: Does it truly exist? How long does it last? Is it beneficial for crops? Besides the fact that these questions cannot be fully answered with the currently available evidence, our analysis reveals a significant methodological deficiency in many published experiments. Specifically, a common experimental design compares plants subjected to a single water deficit episode against those experiencing two, without adequately considering confounding variables such as the reduced size and water consumption of primed plants. We underscore this fundamental flaw to promote the use of more rigorous experimental protocols and propose different strategies to overcome this issue. Future research employing these revised methods will be better positioned to elucidate whether stress memory provides a genuine adaptive benefit and to determine the endurance of this protective effect.EEA PergaminoFil: Vannay, Gustavo J. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Otegui, María Elena. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Manejo de Cultivos; ArgentinaFil: Otegui, María E. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Otegui, María E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Capella, Matías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Chan, Raquel L. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaElsevier2026-03-19T13:05:19Z2026-03-19T13:05:19Z2026-03info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/25524https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01689452250054730168-9452https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2025.112929Plant Science 364 : 112929. (March 2026)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)2026-03-26T11:25:30Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/25524instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2026-03-26 11:25:31.223INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design
title Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design
spellingShingle Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design
Vannay, Gustavo J.
Manejo del Cultivo
Sequía
Sequía Agrícola
Estrés de Sequia
Crop Management
Drought
Agricultural Drought
Drought Stress
Crops
Cultivos
Drought Memory
Drought Primed Plants
Crop Stress Memory
Crop Drought Memory
title_short Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design
title_full Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design
title_fullStr Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design
title_full_unstemmed Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design
title_sort Rethinking drought memory in crops : a call for improved experimental design
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Vannay, Gustavo J.
Otegui, María Elena
Capella, Matías
Chan, Raquel Lía
author Vannay, Gustavo J.
author_facet Vannay, Gustavo J.
Otegui, María Elena
Capella, Matías
Chan, Raquel Lía
author_role author
author2 Otegui, María Elena
Capella, Matías
Chan, Raquel Lía
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Manejo del Cultivo
Sequía
Sequía Agrícola
Estrés de Sequia
Crop Management
Drought
Agricultural Drought
Drought Stress
Crops
Cultivos
Drought Memory
Drought Primed Plants
Crop Stress Memory
Crop Drought Memory
topic Manejo del Cultivo
Sequía
Sequía Agrícola
Estrés de Sequia
Crop Management
Drought
Agricultural Drought
Drought Stress
Crops
Cultivos
Drought Memory
Drought Primed Plants
Crop Stress Memory
Crop Drought Memory
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv The concept of stress memory has attracted increasing attention due to its potential implications for crop improvement. However, empirical support for the existence and benefits of this phenomenon, particularly within the context of intragenerational stress memory, remains scarce. In this review article, we critically examined the current understanding of drought memory, posing critical questions such as: Does it truly exist? How long does it last? Is it beneficial for crops? Besides the fact that these questions cannot be fully answered with the currently available evidence, our analysis reveals a significant methodological deficiency in many published experiments. Specifically, a common experimental design compares plants subjected to a single water deficit episode against those experiencing two, without adequately considering confounding variables such as the reduced size and water consumption of primed plants. We underscore this fundamental flaw to promote the use of more rigorous experimental protocols and propose different strategies to overcome this issue. Future research employing these revised methods will be better positioned to elucidate whether stress memory provides a genuine adaptive benefit and to determine the endurance of this protective effect.
EEA Pergamino
Fil: Vannay, Gustavo J. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina
Fil: Otegui, María Elena. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Manejo de Cultivos; Argentina
Fil: Otegui, María E. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Otegui, María E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Capella, Matías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina
Fil: Chan, Raquel L. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina
description The concept of stress memory has attracted increasing attention due to its potential implications for crop improvement. However, empirical support for the existence and benefits of this phenomenon, particularly within the context of intragenerational stress memory, remains scarce. In this review article, we critically examined the current understanding of drought memory, posing critical questions such as: Does it truly exist? How long does it last? Is it beneficial for crops? Besides the fact that these questions cannot be fully answered with the currently available evidence, our analysis reveals a significant methodological deficiency in many published experiments. Specifically, a common experimental design compares plants subjected to a single water deficit episode against those experiencing two, without adequately considering confounding variables such as the reduced size and water consumption of primed plants. We underscore this fundamental flaw to promote the use of more rigorous experimental protocols and propose different strategies to overcome this issue. Future research employing these revised methods will be better positioned to elucidate whether stress memory provides a genuine adaptive benefit and to determine the endurance of this protective effect.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026-03-19T13:05:19Z
2026-03-19T13:05:19Z
2026-03
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/25524
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168945225005473
0168-9452
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2025.112929
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/25524
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168945225005473
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2025.112929
identifier_str_mv 0168-9452
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv restrictedAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Plant Science 364 : 112929. (March 2026)
reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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