Metabolic engineering can significantly improve crop resilience to various abiotic and biotic stresses, a crucial goal in the face of climate change and evolving pest pressures . Engineering osmolyte accumulation for drought and salinity tolerance has been a successful strategy in many crops. Osmolytes such as glycine betaine, proline, and trehalose help maintain cellular osmotic balance and protect cellular structures under stress conditions. By enhancing the biosynthesis or accumulation of these compounds through genetic engineering, researchers have developed crops with improved tolerance to drought and salt stress . For instance, overexpression of genes involved in glycine betaine synthesis has conferred enhanced drought tolerance in several crop species.