Persistence of plant species under intense, aseasonal heat stress events is unknown. We investigated recovery and reproduction of water-stressed arid-zone plants following a spring vs summer heat stress events under high vs low nutrient regimes. Although not acclimated, plants appeared resilient to spring heat stress, contrasting overall poor outcomes in summer.

The apetala/ethylene responsive factor (AP2/ERF) family plays important in plant development and response to stress. This article mainly tells about how RAP2.4 is involved in low-temperature stress of chrysanthemum (Chrysamthemum lavandulifolium). We found that the overexpression of ClRAP2.4 in chrysanthemum increased tolerance to cold stress. The relative expression levels of ClCOR and other genes were higher in transgenic plants at low temperature. This experiment provides a theoretical basis for the research on the tolerance of chrysanthemum to cold stress.

Beneficial rhizospheric bacteria are essential for plant growth and development and help under stressful conditions. Owing to industrial effluent and application of synthetic fertilisers, the concentration of heavy metal salts is increasing in soil, and this negatively influences plant growth and production. In this research, we isolated bacteria contributing to resistance to heavy metals (copper and iron) from rhizospheric soil associated with Bacopa monnieri. We studied their importance for plant growth and secondary metabolite synthesis under salt stress in pot experiments.

Winter rye (Secale cereale) is one of the most important economic crops for north-east China. However, the freeze–thaw and allelopathy are the two main limiting factors that affect the seed germination and seedling growth of winter rye. Research shows that the combined stress of freeze–thaw and allelopathy could damage winter rye seedlings, and affect the membrane lipid peroxidation, osmotic adjustment, antioxidant enzyme, and photosynthesis of seedlings. The results of this study can provide guidance for improving crop management and yield.