Climate constraints and adaptation strategies for improving the production and quality of exotic vegetables in North America (literature review)

Exotic vegetables play an increasingly important role in North American food systems, driven by cultural diversification and the demand from immigrant communities. Unfortunately, climate change is intensifying the threats to their production and quality. This review aims to fill the current lack of an integrated synthesis of knowledge on the main exotic vegetables consumed by communities of Asian and Afro-Caribbean origin in North America, by analysing their production constraints, their physiological and molecular responses, and the adaptation strategies that can be mobilized to secure and strengthen their supply chains. It also highlights the market opportunities that these crops represent for North American farmers. Using a structured literature review approach inspired by PRISMA guidelines, the most representative crops for these communities were identified, along with the main limiting factors for their establishment and yield stability. The results show that increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves, water deficits, and extreme weather events lead to physiological alterations in these crops, quality losses, and the exacerbation of certain pests and diseases. These effects are mediated by complex tolerance networks involving heat shock factors and proteins, phytohormonal crosstalk, and transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic reprogramming. The review underscores the need for a multifaceted strategy combining agronomic and technological innovations (protection against extremes, water management, biostimulants, protected cultivation systems), breeding and genetic improvement approaches that integrate tools from genomics, genomic selection, genome editing, and epigenomics, as well as institutional support mechanisms and public policies that promote tailored breeding programs, the dissemination of resilient cultivars, and the strengthening of local supply chains. It further shows that, when supported by appropriate public policies and targeted investment in research, this sector offers new business opportunities for North American producers through crop diversification, the creation of niche markets, and the development of high-value-added local value chains, thereby contributing to economic dynamism, agronomic innovation, and food system resilience. • Climate change is intensifying heat waves, droughts, and extreme events that threaten exotic vegetable production in North America. • Exotic vegetables of Asian and Afro-Caribbean origin exhibit diverse physiological and molecular responses to climatic constraints. • Agronomic innovations and breeding approaches jointly contribute to strengthening climate resilience and the stability of supply chains. • Public policies, research investment, and the development of niche markets are key levers to support resilient food systems oriented toward immigrant communities. • Crop diversification, local production, and niche marketing offer new economic opportunities for North American producers.