Hormesis can enhance agricultural sustainability in a changing world

Considerable evidence has emerged that low-dose challenges induce adaptive responses that protect organisms from preceding or succeeding toxic effects, endogenous aging activities or exogenous challenges/threats via conditioning processes. These principles indicate that pre-post conditioning processes can affect the theoretical foundations and practice of agricultural planning and programs, creating the potential to optimize outcomes/performance, leading to more favourable cost-benefit relationships. These developments can be applied to agricultural systems to reduce environmental change impacts, enhance resistance to microbes and pests, and increase productivity at far lower costs, helping to enhance agricultural sustainability in a "changing world". However, care should be exercised to account for risks that could be associated with the incorrect use of hormesis-based solutions and for regulatory issues that may arise. More caution should be taken regarding risks and regulatory as well as commercial difficulties that will likely hamper achieving greater agricultural sustainability.