Biotechnology: Approaches and methods in horticultural crops

The review was conducted at Teerthankkar Mahaveer University, Moradabad, in the month of April 2024, with an aim of gathering information regarding recent advances in the biotechnology in horticultural crops. Horticultural crops play a crucial role in ensuring food and nutritional security. Additionally, they are a vital component of the agricultural economy, possessing significant economic potential. These crops are a valuable source of nutrients essential for human health. Global production of horticultural crops has seen substantial growth over recent decades. Nevertheless, significant losses due to both biotic and abiotic stresses remain significant challenges in their effective utilization. Biotechnology is often regarded as a solution to various horticultural production challenges. Plant biotechnology encompasses three primary areas: in vitro propagation and tissue culture for producing disease-free plants, the use of molecular markers for enhanced selection in plant breeding, and genetic engineering. The review highlights role of biotechnology in improvement of horticultural crops. It explores micropropagation's contributions to elite plant varieties, reviews genetic transformation methods and GM crops in horticulture. The literature includes Agrobacterium-mediated and biolistics transformation techniques for crop enhancement. Marker-assisted breeding strategies are discussed in the context of enhancing crop resilience, productivity, and nutritional quality as well as latest technology like CRISPR Cas9. Overall, this review synthesizes current knowledge and identifies future directions in biotechnological approaches aimed at advancing horticultural crop improvement and sustainability.