Advances in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis l.) breeding, with emphasis on india

Abstract

Among the cole vegetables, cauliflower is a widely grown crop worldwide for its nutrients and flavor. It is a thermosensitive crop for its curd formation and development. Different cultivar groups in cauliflower are known such as Italian or Original, Cornish, Northerns, Roscoff, Angers, Erfurt, Snowball and Indian, based on phylogeny and plant traits. The Indian cauliflower group evolved from European cauliflower and later classified as early, mid-early, mid-late and late, depending upon temperature requirements related to curd initiation and development. A large number of varieties and hybrids have been developed in tropical cauliflower, for different maturity groups and established using a cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system for hybrid breeding. Recently, biotechnological tools such as DNA markers, genomics and tissue culture for doubled haploid development, pre-breeding for introgressing genes/QTLs from alien brassicas were deployed in cauliflower breeding. Resistant sources identified in cole vegetables for black rot and downy mildew by genetic investigations revealed single dominant gene governance of resistance for both diseases. Cauliflower is one of the best candidate crops for β-carotene biofortification, hence a natural mutant native Or gene was introgressed into Indian cauliflower. Besides, transgenesis is underway to develop diamondback moth resistant varieties by stacking cry 1b and 1c bt genes in cauliflower. This chapter highlights recent developments in cauliflower breeding particularly in tropical types.