No avocados, no kiwis: Your favourite exotic fruits are losing to climate change
They have become staples in health-conscious diets, but a changing climate is eroding the future of India's exotic fruits. This week, India Today Science's Climate On My Plate examines how the superfoods face a warming planet.
Over the past decade, farmers across India have embraced exotic fruits such as dragon fruit, kiwi, avocado and passion fruit, drawn by rising demand and better returns than many conventional crops.
Yet as climate change intensifies, scientists warn that even these relatively new additions to Indian farms are coming under pressure.
Heat stress, shifting rainfall patterns and more frequent extreme weather events are beginning to affect how these fruits grow, flower and produce yields, raising questions about their future in a warming climate.
WHEN THE HEAT SOARS
Dragon fruit is often celebrated as a hardy, drought-tolerant crop that requires less water than many traditional fruits. But that does not make it immune to climate change.
Scientists at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) have found that prolonged summer temperatures above 36–40°C can cause severe sunburn on dragon fruit plants.
Excessive heat damages stems and fruits, suppresses flowering, reduces fruit set and can slash yields by 30-60% if left unmanaged.
Researchers have responded by developing kaolin-based protective sprays and artificial shading techniques that help lower plant temperatures and reduce sunburn damage.
Kiwis face a different challenge.
Native to cooler climates, Kiwi depends on moderate temperatures to develop properly.
A recent review found that prolonged heat waves disrupt photosynthesis, impair fruit growth and reduce both yield and quality.
Researchers noted that rising temperatures could make traditional growing areas less suitable unless farmers shift to heat-tolerant cultivars and adopt climate-smart orchard practices.
Other high-value fruits are also vulnerable.
Passion fruit performs best under relatively stable temperatures and adequate soil moisture. Increasing heat and erratic rainfall can interfere with flowering, fruit development and overall productivity, according to horticultural research, making irrigation and water management increasingly critical.
FARMING WITH EXTREME WEATHER
The problem would be much easier to manage if it were a seasonal one, but turns out, the challenge extends beyond hotter summers.
Climate scientists say global warming is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, heavy rainfall and prolonged dry spells.
For fruit growers, these sudden shifts can be as damaging as gradual warming.
Unseasonal rain during flowering may reduce pollination, while intense downpours can encourage fungal diseases. Extended dry periods, meanwhile, increase water stress, particularly for young orchards that have not fully established their root systems.
Unlike annual crops, fruit orchards represent years of investment. A single season of severe weather can affect not only that year’s harvest but also the productivity of trees and vines in the years that follow.
Some crops may find new opportunities, but adaptation is key. Scientists keep this in mind when pointing to the broader lesson.
The lesson about how the future of India’s exotic fruit basket will depend less on introducing new crops and more on making them resilient to a changing climate.
From heat-tolerant varieties and protective shading to efficient irrigation and improved orchard management, adapting to warmer conditions is becoming just as important as cultivating the fruits themselves.
For consumers, the colourful display of exotic fruits at supermarkets may look unchanged. But for the farmers growing them, climate change is increasingly becoming one of the biggest challenges on the journey from the orchard to the plate.
Over the past decade, farmers across India have embraced exotic fruits such as dragon fruit, kiwi, avocado and passion fruit, drawn by rising demand and better returns than many conventional crops.
Yet as climate change intensifies, scientists warn that even these relatively new additions to Indian farms are coming under pressure.
Heat stress, shifting rainfall patterns and more frequent extreme weather events are beginning to affect how these fruits grow, flower and produce yields, raising questions about their future in a warming climate.
WHEN THE HEAT SOARS
Dragon fruit is often celebrated as a hardy, drought-tolerant crop that requires less water than many traditional fruits. But that does not make it immune to climate change.
Scientists at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) have found that prolonged summer temperatures above 36–40°C can cause severe sunburn on dragon fruit plants.
Excessive heat damages stems and fruits, suppresses flowering, reduces fruit set and can slash yields by 30-60% if left unmanaged.
Researchers have responded by developing kaolin-based protective sprays and artificial shading techniques that help lower plant temperatures and reduce sunburn damage.
Kiwis face a different challenge.
Native to cooler climates, Kiwi depends on moderate temperatures to develop properly.
A recent review found that prolonged heat waves disrupt photosynthesis, impair fruit growth and reduce both yield and quality.
Researchers noted that rising temperatures could make traditional growing areas less suitable unless farmers shift to heat-tolerant cultivars and adopt climate-smart orchard practices.
Other high-value fruits are also vulnerable.
Passion fruit performs best under relatively stable temperatures and adequate soil moisture. Increasing heat and erratic rainfall can interfere with flowering, fruit development and overall productivity, according to horticultural research, making irrigation and water management increasingly critical.
FARMING WITH EXTREME WEATHER
The problem would be much easier to manage if it were a seasonal one, but turns out, the challenge extends beyond hotter summers.
Climate scientists say global warming is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, heavy rainfall and prolonged dry spells.
For fruit growers, these sudden shifts can be as damaging as gradual warming.
Unseasonal rain during flowering may reduce pollination, while intense downpours can encourage fungal diseases. Extended dry periods, meanwhile, increase water stress, particularly for young orchards that have not fully established their root systems.
Unlike annual crops, fruit orchards represent years of investment. A single season of severe weather can affect not only that year’s harvest but also the productivity of trees and vines in the years that follow.
Some crops may find new opportunities, but adaptation is key. Scientists keep this in mind when pointing to the broader lesson.
The lesson about how the future of India’s exotic fruit basket will depend less on introducing new crops and more on making them resilient to a changing climate.
From heat-tolerant varieties and protective shading to efficient irrigation and improved orchard management, adapting to warmer conditions is becoming just as important as cultivating the fruits themselves.
For consumers, the colourful display of exotic fruits at supermarkets may look unchanged. But for the farmers growing them, climate change is increasingly becoming one of the biggest challenges on the journey from the orchard to the plate.
