It is a known fact that a large portion of the world’s population depends on rice for food. 20% of the calories consumed worldwide is being contributed by rice. Rice is grown in various conditions characterized by different temperatures, climates and soil-water conditions. However, adverse environmental conditions seriously threaten rice production, causing enormous losses in large areas of the world.

The biotic and the abiotic stresses, such as drought, high salinity, high and low temperatures, flooding, high light, ozone, low nutrient availability all represent a serious threat to sustainable rice production. On the other hand, biotic stresses brought by biological agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, etc. further reduce rice productivity.

Methods have been extensively investigated at physiological, biochemical, genetic and molecular levels to curb the biotic and abiotic stress. Unprecedented opportunities have been offered via the availability of high-throughput techniques for the dissection of the complex signaling pathways and the regulatory gene networks involved in such responses, new tools for the targeted manipulation of stress-related traits are being provided. There are numerous genetically modified rice varieties tolerated to abiotic and biotic stresses. Epigenetic modifications and even spaceflight environment can be quite effective in generating changes at both levels.