Abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought, heat, and heavy metal contamination represent escalating threats to global food insecurity, decreasing crop productivity and soil health. Sustainable strategies that enhance crop resilience to those stressors are urgently required, and organic fertilizers have emerged as promising inputs to enhance crop response to various forms of stresses. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the physiological, growth, and yield responses of crops to key organic amendments, including compost, farmyard manure, vermicompost, and biochar, under major abiotic stress conditions. Evidence indicates that organic fertilizers improve soil structure, nutrient availability, and microbial activity, thereby supporting ion balance under salinity, water retention during drought, photosynthetic stability under heat stress, and reduced heavy metal uptake. While these benefits of organic amendments are well-documented, significant gaps remain: comparative studies across stress types are scarce, and long-term field validations-based evidences under diverse agro ecological settings are limited. Addressing these knowledge gaps is essential to optimize application strategies and integrate organic fertilizers into resilient food systems. This review highlights the dual role of organic fertilizers in mitigating abiotic stress and advancing sustainable agriculture, while underscoring research priorities for future innovations in crop and soil management towards sustainable agriculture development.
abiotic stress, crop productivity, organic fertilizers, soil fertility