Enhancing Abiotic Stress Resilience in Oat: Integrating Resistance Breeding and Cultivation Physiology

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is a versatile cereal crop cultivated for food, feed, and forage, and is widely recognized for its adaptability to marginal environments. Nevertheless, ongoing climate change has substantially amplified the frequency and severity of abiotic stresses — including drought, heat, and salinity — posing increasing threats to oat yield and production stability worldwide. Both conventional breeding and improved cultivation practices have contributed to alleviating these constraints, yet advances in the two domains have largely proceeded in isolation, limiting their combined impact. Recent progress in molecular breeding and omics technologies has accelerated the identification of stress-responsive genes and tolerant germplasm, while parallel physiological research has illuminated key adaptive mechanisms, including osmotic regulation, antioxidant defense, and hormonal signaling. Despite these achievements, a critical gap remains: the systematic integration of genetic resistance with agronomic optimization to develop resilient, high-performing oat systems suited to the realities of a changing climate.This Research Topic seeks to address this gap by bridging resistance breeding and cultivation physiology to comprehensively strengthen abiotic stress resilience in oat. Specifically, it aims to: identify and characterize genetic resources and molecular determinants underlying stress tolerance; develop stress-resilient germplasm through marker-assisted and genomic selection; elucidate the physiological and molecular mechanisms of stress adaptation; optimize cultivation practices to effectively mitigate stress impacts; and explore genotype × environment × management (G×E×M) interactions governing the expression of stress tolerance under real-world conditions. Together, these objectives form an integrative framework that combines advanced genetics, crop physiology, and agronomy to enhance oat productivity and stability across diverse and variable environments.To advance understanding at the intersection of genetic improvement and cultivation management, this topic welcomes contributions spanning molecular, physiological, and field-based perspectives. We invite Original Research, Review, Methods, and Perspective articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Genetic resources, GWAS, and genomic selection for abiotic stress tolerance in oato Functional genomics and regulatory networks of stress-responsive geneso Physiological and biochemical mechanisms underpinning stress adaptation, including photosynthesis, osmotic balance, antioxidant defense, and hormone signalingo Agronomic strategies for stress mitigation, encompassing irrigation, fertilization, sowing date, and planting densityo Genotype × environment × management (G×E×M) interactions under stress conditionso Integrated breeding–cultivation frameworks for sustainable oat productiono Application of multi-omics, phenomics, and crop modeling to advance oat stress resilienceAll submissions should align with the scope of Frontiers in Plant Science, and will undergo peer review according to Frontiers’ editorial standards. Topic editors: Xiquan Wang, Baoluo Ma, Yadong Yang, Baoping Zhao Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82812/enhancing-abiotic-stress-resilience-in-oat-integrating-resistance-breeding-and-cultivation-physiology