One of the major challenges facing future genetic gains in crop production are constraints imposed by abiotic stress. This is impacted by climate change and rapidly increasing costs of inputs such as water, energy, and fertilizer. Breeders are aware of the tremendous genetic diversity for these traits, however heritability is often low, GXE interactions abound, and phenotypes are difficult and costly to measure. This symposium will focus on research in genetic improvement of crop productivity under abiotic stress using contemporary and molecular breeding tools. Germplasm characterization and improvement for these complex traits will complement other research efforts ongoing to enhance abiotic stress via biotechnology.