Modern breeding approaches in vegetable crops: A comprehensive review of tools and applications

Abstract

The global demand for nutritious, resilient, and high-yielding vegetable crops is steadily increasing in response to population growth, climate variability, and changing dietary patterns. Conventional breeding methods, while foundational, are often time-consuming and limited in their ability to address complex traits such as abiotic stress tolerance, disease resistance, and quality attributes. The integration of advanced breeding tools-including marker-assisted selection (MAS), genomic selection (GS), genome editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9), speed breeding and phenomics, etc. has ushered in a new era of precision breeding in vegetable crops. This review synthesizes recent advancements in these tools and highlights their application across a range of vegetable species, with illustrative case studies. We discuss the underlying principles, practical implementation, and comparative advantages of each method. Furthermore, we examine the major challenges impeding widespread adoption, such as limited genomic resources, high costs, regulatory uncertainties, and the need for skilled human capital. The paper concludes by outlining future prospects for democratizing breeding technologies and promoting global collaboration to accelerate genetic gains in vegetable crops. This integrative approach holds significant potential to enhance food and nutritional security while ensuring the sustainability of vegetable production systems worldwide.