Mutation breeding in vegetable crops: A review

Abstract

Mutation breeding generally plays a very important role in vegetable crops. Among the different present approaches, mutagenesis and mutation breeding and the isolation of improved or novel phenotypes in conjunction with conventional breeding programmes can result in mutant varieties endowed with new and desirable variation of agrometrical traits. Induced mutations and its related technologies play very well in this ground and this overall strategy helps to trace the crop genetic diversity along with its biodiversity maintenance. Such induced mutagenesis, a crucial step in vegetable crop improvement programme, is now successful in application due to the advancement and incorporation of large-scale selection techniques, micro propagation and other in vitro culture methods, molecular biology tools and techniques in modern crop breeding performance. Molecular mutation breeding will significantly increase both the efficiency and efficacy of mutation techniques in crop breeding. Thus, mutation assisted plant breeding will play a crucial role in the generation of ‘designer crop varieties’. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the various techniques and workflows available to researchers today in the field of mutation breeding, and how these tools complement the ones already used in traditional breeding.