Combined abiotic stresses in mediterranean citrus orchards: Impacts, adaptation strategies, and climate-resilient solutions

• Combined abiotic stresses severely impair citrus growth and productivity. • Citrus shows unique responses to stress combinations, not predictable from single stress. • The Mediterranean basin is a climate hotspot for citrus under multi-stress scenarios. • ROS detox, metabolic shifts, and transcriptional plasticity drive stress resilience. • Breeding and omics tools enable the development of stress-tolerant citrus varieties. • Precision agriculture and AI technologies support climate-smart citrus adaptation. Citrus production in the Mediterranean Basin is increasingly threatened by climate change, which is intensifying the frequency and severity of combined abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, salinity, and excessive solar radiation. These multi-stress scenarios trigger unique physiological and molecular responses in citrus plants, leading to reduced photosynthetic capacity, oxidative damage, impaired metabolism, and yield loss. This review synthesizes recent advances in understanding the impact of abiotic stress combinations on citrus physiology, with particular emphasis on the Mediterranean context. We detail how different stress interactions affect key cellular and metabolic processes. Furthermore, we discuss emerging mitigation strategies, including the selection of tolerant rootstocks, genomics-assisted breeding, biostimulant applications, and technological innovations such as precision irrigation, protected cultivation systems, and early-warning tools based on remote sensing and AI. A multidisciplinary framework integrating omics, agronomy, and digital agriculture is essential to develop climate-resilient citrus systems. Ultimately, this review underscores the urgent need for regionally adapted, multi-factorial approaches to sustain citrus productivity and fruit quality under future climate scenarios.