Advanced Breeding Tools in Vegetable Crops

Abstract

Vegetables are key ingredients in a well-balanced nutritious diet. Their worldwide rising consumption reveals the awareness of their health benefits. The major biotic factors affecting vegetable production are pathogens causing diseases, insects and nematodes pests, and weeds. Vegetables are also sensitive to drought, flood, heat, frost and salinity. Plant breeding provides means for introducing host plant resistance, adapting crops to stressful environments, and developing cultivars with the desired produce quality. The genetic enhancement of vegetables aims