Aug 2026· Journal of Experimental Botany· 0 citations
Medicine
Abstract
Plant breeding has progressed from phenotype-based selection to increasingly precise genetic and agronomic interventions. Advances in molecular breeding, genome engineering, and crop management have improved productivity, but have also promoted the widespread use of genetically uniform cultivars optimized for controlled production systems. While uniformity facilitates predictability and mechanization, it may constrain adaptive capacity under increasingly variable environmental conditions. In parallel, recent developments in digital agriculture, including high-resolution phenotyping, remote-sensing, molecular diagnostics, and AI-assisted decision support, are transforming the ability to monitor and manage biological variation across spatial and temporal scales. In this review, we examine how these technological advances intersect with emerging concepts in crop diversity and reproductive biology. We discuss how digital agriculture enables improved characterization of genotype-environment interactions and consider reproductive mechanisms that expand the accessible breeding space beyond conventional biparental crossing schemes, including haploid induction and multi-parental breeding. These approaches provide opportunities to accelerate trait introgression, generate novel genetic combinations, and overcome reproductive barriers. We argue that digital and diagnostic agriculture provide an informational framework for the deployment and evaluation of genetically heterogeneous plant populations. Together, recent advances suggest that technological precision and biological diversity can be integrated into breeding strategies that improve productivity and resilience.
By combining genomic data with precision breeding techniques, researchers are developing crops that are better adapted to a growing population and a changing climate, positioning the integration of molecular breeding and bioinformatics as a central pillar of future global food security.
Muhammad Shahid Iqbal, Z. Sarfraz, Muhammad Mujahid et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
Drought constitutes one of the most pervasive abiotic constraints limiting global crop productivity, with its frequency and intensity projected to increase substantially under ongoing climate change. This narrative review synthesises contemporary evidence on the genetic, physiological, and agronomic dimensions of drought resilience in major food crops, drawing on peer-reviewed literature published primarily between 2000 and 2026. Physiologically, drought impairs stomatal conductance, suppresses photosynthetic carbon assimilation, disturbs osmotic equilibrium, and restricts root-mediated water acquisition, with reproductive stages being disproportionately vulnerable. At the genetic level, the deployment of quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, transcription-factor engineering, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, and the overexpression of stress-responsive functional genes has opened novel avenues for enhancing tolerance without compromising yield potential. Breeding programmes have increasingly integrated marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection to accelerate genetic gain, whilst high-throughput phenotyping platforms now enable rapid assessment of drought-adaptive traits at a population scale. Agronomic strategies, including deficit irrigation, conservation tillage, intercropping, and application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), provide complementary levers for sustaining productivity under water-limited conditions. Emerging integrative approaches that combine multi-omics, digital precision agriculture, and policy-enabled climate-smart frameworks are highlighted as critical pathways for translating laboratory and field insights into scalable solutions. The review identifies persistent knowledge gaps—including the limited translation of genomic advances to smallholder contexts and the underexplored potential of microbiome engineering—and calls for a convergence of disciplinary expertise, equitable technology transfer, and coherent policy support to achieve drought-resilient food systems globally.
B. Santhosh, V. Sanjivkumar, H. B. Gowda et al.· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
Tissue culture technologies, strengthened by AI-driven predictive modeling and precision phenotyping, stand as a cornerstone for sustainable legume improvement, addressing escalating global food and feed demands while meeting environmental challenges.
Suman Rawte, Z. Jha, Hemant Sahu et al.· Genetics and Molecular Resea...· 0 citations
The future of crop improvement using GEd technologies lies in the harmonisation or alignment of global policies and regulations to support the trade of agricultural produce and ensure that growers and consumers can benefit from GEd technology.
Michael G. K. Jones· Sugar Industry international· 0 citations
Plant breeding strategies play a crucial role in ensuring the global food security, particularly in the face of increasing environmental variability. However, complex, ever‐changing environmental impacts are increasingly limiting the effectiveness and predictability of breeding programs. This review systematically brings together available information on how important environmental factors, including climate change, extreme temperatures, drought, salinity, and changes in pest and disease prevalence, affect plant breeding. These variables present multidimensional problems in breeding activities. This review thoroughly evaluates the role of genotype‐by‐environment (G × E) interactions, reduced heritability in stress, and unfavorable environmental changes in identifying and selecting superior genotypes. It also elaborates on the consequences of these problems in traditional breeding practices, molecular breeding, and genomic selection. The potential solutions include emerging technologies and integrated breeding approaches that combine envirotyping with genomic prediction, environmental modeling, and phenomics to enhance the selection of climate‐resilient traits. By documenting evidence in a wide range of agroecological situations, this review provides a broader framework of knowledge on environmental limitations in breeding efficiency and suggests adaptive pathways to future crop improvement programs. This review supports the urgent need to implement eco‐conscious breeding to enhance genetic benefits in both favorable and stressful environments, which will lead to sustainability and robustness in agricultural systems.
Muhammad Haris, T. Shaheen, Muhammad Abdul Rehman Rashid· New Zealand journal of crop...· 0 citations
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