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This study investigated the potential of extended irradiation combined with immature embryo culture techniques to accelerate generation advancements in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) breeding programs. We developed an efficient speed breeding method by applying light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit specific wavelengths, alongside the in vitro germination of immature embryos under controlled environmental conditions. The experimental design for light treatments followed a 2 × 4 completely randomized factorial design with four replications, incorporating two safflower varieties, Remzibey-05 and Dinçer, and four LED treatments (white, full-spectrum, red + blue + white, and control). A lighting regimen of 22 h of light and 2 h of darkness was applied for all the LED treatments, whereas the control received 18 h of light and 6 h of darkness. Additionally, the immature embryo culture experiment used a 2 × 2 × 4 factorial arrangement, assessing two safflower cultivars, two media types, and four embryo developmental stages, with three replications. The parameters evaluated included plant height, branch number, seed number per plant, seed number per head, time to flower initiation, time to 50% flowering, time to harvest, and germination percentage of in vitro cultured immature embryos at various developmental stages. The harvest time among the light treatments ranged from 50.62 to 73.12 days, with the shortest time achieved under the red + blue + white LED combination and the longest under the control treatment. The plant height, number of seeds per plant, and number of seeds per head were highest under the full-spectrum LED, control and red + blue + white LED combinations, respectively. Immature embryos rescued at 10 days post-pollination presented a 57% germination rate, with an increasing trend in germination as the number of days post-pollination increased. The germination rates did not significantly differ across varieties or hormone treatments. This study demonstrated the potential to achieve six generations per year by combining prolonged illumination with targeted LED lighting and immature embryo culture techniques. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing safflower growth and development and advancing speed breeding in controlled environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic selection-based breeding programs offer significant advantages over conventional phenotypic selection, particularly in accelerating genetic gains in plant breeding, as demonstrated by simulations focused on combating Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat. FHB resistance, a crucial trait, is challenging to breed for due to its quantitative inheritance and environmental influence, leading to slow progress using conventional breeding methods. Stochastic simulations in our study compared various breeding schemes, incorporating genomic selection (GS) and combining it with speed breeding, against conventional phenotypic selection. Two datasets were simulated, reflecting real-life genotypic data (MASBASIS) and a simulated wheat breeding program (EXAMPLE). Initially a 20-year burn-in phase using a conventional phenotypic selection method followed by a 20-year advancement phase with three GS-based breeding programs (GSF2F8, GSF8, and SpeedBreeding + GS) were evaluated alongside over a conventional phenotypic selection method. Results consistently showed significant increases in genetic gain with GS-based programs compared to phenotypic selection, irrespective of the selection strategies employed. Among the GS schemes, SpeedBreeding + GS consistently outperformed others, generating the highest genetic gains. This combination effectively minimized generation intervals within the breeding cycle, enhancing efficiency. This study underscores the advantages of genomic selection in accelerating breeding gains for wheat, particularly in combating FHB. By leveraging genomic information and innovative techniques like speed breeding, breeders can efficiently select for desired traits, significantly reducing testing time and costs associated with conventional phenotypic methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the complex context of rising food demand, natural resources degradation and worsening climate changes impact, food legumes could play an important role in sustainable agriculture and food security. To overcome these challenges, enhanced genetic gain has become a necessity. Speed breeding‐based extended photoperiod is being used to reinforce conventional breeding methods and to speed up the development of adapted varieties. Speed breeding growth chambers and greenhouses' light quality in terms of red–blue ratio is among important factors that need to be optimized to enhance the efficiency of this technique to accelerate plant growth and development while limiting plant stress. We have compared the effect of different light ratios of 5:3 red–blue, 3:5 red–blue and 4:4 white–white on phenological and morphological characteristics of three lentil and chickpea genotypes grown in a speed breeding‐based extended photoperiod growth chamber with 22 h light/2 h dark. The 5:3 red–blue light ratio increased plant height and reduced flowering time for the three tested lentil varieties with 36, 41 and 40 days after sowing, respectively, as well as for the three tested chickpea varieties with 42, 38 and 24 days after sowing, respectively. While the 3:5 red–blue ratio increased leaves and secondary stem growth for lentil; leaves and secondary stem growth, green canopy cover and seedling vigour for chickpea. Less vegetative growth and later flowering were observed under white light. Higher red–blue light ratio of 5:3 accelerated lentil and chickpea vegetative growth and flowering, making it more optimal for speed breeding‐based extended photoperiod. It should be pointed out that the suggested home‐designed and built protocol is cost‐effective and easy to implement especially in small‐scale breeding programmes in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid generation advance is a collection of breeding tools for quicker development of homozygous lines from the segregating generations raised from a cross of two divergent parents. An array of techniques including single seed descent, speed breeding, shuttle breeding, doubled haploidy, marker assisted breeding and genomic selection were designed to achieve the maximum genetic gain through reducing the time required for development of such homozygous lines. In addition, utilization of genome editing in agronomically important crops further enhances the genetic advance to alleviate the food supply shortage. Therefore, utilization of these techniques could be more advantageous than the conventional breeding approaches in terms of speed and logistic support. Combination of these methods allows breeders to develop agronomically superior varieties in a very short period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a key crop for the global food supply. Its complex polyploid genome and recalcitrance to tissue culture pose challenges for genetic transformation, especially for elite cultivars. This study aimed to improve transformation efficiency in elite Korean wheat cultivars by integrating morphogenic regulator genes (GRF4–GIF1), using an engineered Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain. By integrating speed breeding to accelerate donor plant growth, we also reduced the time required to generate transgenic plants. Modifying the resting period and incorporating GRF4–GIF1 significantly improved the outcomes, leading to a transformation efficiency of 4.46% ± 0.93% in Bobwhite cultivar. Application of these methods to Korean elite cultivars also successfully yielded transformations with Keumkang and Baekkang cultivars. Furthermore, using a T3SS AGL-1 strain expressing the type III effector AvrPto enhanced the transformation efficiency in Baekkang cultivar by 2.27 times (17.7%) compared to the standard AGL-1 strain. Using the protocol as described here, we successfully developed stable transgenic lines of the Korean wheat cultivar, marking a pioneering achievement in Korean wheat molecular breeding. The modified protocol can contribute to wheat genetic research and breeding programs in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, BC1F3:4 generation plants derived from the hybrid crosses of Rio Blanco × Nevzatbey, Rio Blanco × Adana99, and Rio Blanco × line 127 were used as experimental material. These hybrids incorporated QTLs associated with pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) resistance through molecular techniques. Key agronomic traits, including plant height, spike length, the number of grains per spike, grain weight, and physiological maturity, were evaluated in both greenhouse and growth room settings under accelerated growth (speed breeding) conditions. Results indicated that plants grown in the fully controlled greenhouse conditions exhibited superior agronomic performance compared with those cultivated in the growth room. Additionally, germination tests were conducted on each hybrid cross to identify genotypes exhibiting dormancy. The analysis revealed that 11 lines from the Rio Blanco × Nevzatbey combination, eight lines from Rio Blanco × Adana99, and six lines from Rio Blanco × Line 127 had notably low germination indices. Among the three hybrid families, the Rio Blanco × Nevzatbey BC1F3:4 hybrids demonstrated the lowest germination index (0.44). Furthermore, Rio Blanco itself recorded the lowest germination index under both greenhouse (0.02) and growth room (0.24) conditions. These findings suggest that environmental conditions exert a significant influence on the expression of dormancy in these genotypes, even when dormancy genes are present. The lines developed in this research have the potential to serve as elite material in breeding programs aimed at enhancing pre-harvest sprouting resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of consequences of climate change, notably salinity, put global food security at risk by impacting the development and production of lentils. Salinity-induced stress alters lentil genetics, resulting in severe developmental issues and eventual phenotypic damage. Lentils have evolved sophisticated signaling networks to combat salinity stress. Lentil genomics and transcriptomics have discovered key genes and pathways that play an important role in mitigating salinity stress. The development of saline-smart cultivars can be further revolutionized by implementing proteomics, metabolomics, miRNAomics, epigenomics, phenomics, ionomics, machine learning, and speed breeding approaches. All these cutting-edge approaches represent a viable path toward creating saline-tolerant lentil cultivars that can withstand climate change and meet the growing demand for high-quality food worldwide. The review emphasizes the gaps that must be filled for future food security in a changing climate while also highlighting the significant discoveries and insights made possible by omics and other state-of-the-art biotechnological techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Improving the rate of genetic gain of cereal crop will rely on the accelerated crop breeding pipelines to allow rapid delivery of improved crop varieties. The laborious, time-consuming traditional breeding cycle, and the seasonal variations are the key factor restricting the breeder to develop new varieties. To address these issues, a revolutionized cost-effective speed breeding protocol for large-scale rice germplasm advancement is presented in the present study. The protocol emphasises on optimizing potting material, balancing the double-edged sword of limited nutritional dose, mode and stage of application, plant density, temperature, humidity, light spectrum, intensity, photoperiod, and hormonal regulation to accelerate rice growth and development. Results The plant density of 700 plants/m2, cost-effective halogen tubes (B:G:R:FR-7.0:27.6:65.4:89.2) with an intensity of ∼ 750–800 µmol/m2/s and photoperiod of 13 h light and 11 h dark during seedling and vegetative stage and 8 h light and 16 h dark during reproductive stage had a significant effect (P

Sustaining crop production and food security are threatened by a burgeoning world population and adverse environmental conditions. Traditional breeding methods for vegetable crops are time-consuming, laborious, and untargeted, often taking several years to develop new and improved varieties. The challenges faced by a long breeding cycle need to be overcome. The speed breeding (SB) approach is broadly employed in crop breeding, which greatly shortens breeding cycles and facilities plant growth to obtain new, better-adapted crop varieties as quickly as possible. Potential opportunities are offered by SB in plant factories, where optimal photoperiod, light quality, light intensity, temperature, CO2 concentration, and nutrients are precisely manipulated to enhance the growth of horticultural vegetable crops, holding promise to surmount the long-standing problem of lengthy crop breeding cycles. Additionally, integrated with other breeding technologies, such as genome editing, genomic selection, and highthroughput genotyping, SB in plant factories has emerged as a smart and promising platform to hasten generation turnover and enhance the efficiency of breeding in vegetable crops. This review considers the pivotal opportunities and challenges of SB in plant factories, aiming to accelerate plant generation turnover and improve vegetable crops with precision and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Improving the rate of genetic gain of cereal crop will rely on the accelerated crop breeding pipelines to allow rapid delivery of improved crop varieties. The laborious, time-consuming traditional breeding cycle, and the seasonal variations are the key factor restricting the breeder to develop new varieties. To address these issues, a revolutionized cost-effective speed breeding protocol for large-scale rice germplasm advancement is presented in the present study. The protocol emphasises on optimizing potting material, balancing the double-edged sword of limited nutritional dose, mode and stage of application, plant density, temperature, humidity, light spectrum, intensity, photoperiod, and hormonal regulation to accelerate rice growth and development. Results: The plant density of 700 plants/m2, cost-effective halogen tubes (B:G:R:FR-7.0:27.6:65.4:89.2) with an intensity of ∼ 750–800 µmol/m2/s and photoperiod of 13 h light and 11 h dark during seedling and vegetative stage and 8 h light and 16 h dark during reproductive stage had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on reducing the mean plant height, tillering, and inducing early flowering. Our results confirmed that one generation can be achieved within 68–75 days using the cost-effective SpeedyPaddy protocol resulting in 4–5 generations per year across different duration of rice varieties. The other applications include hybridization, trait-based phenotyping, and mapping of QTL/genes. The estimated cost to run one breeding cycle with plant capacity of 15,680 plants in SpeedyPaddy was $2941 including one-time miscellaneous cost which is much lower than the advanced controlled environment speed breeding facilities. Conclusion: The protocol offers a promising cost-effective solution with average saving of 2.0 to 2.6 months per breeding cycle with an integration of genomics-assisted selection, trait-based phenotyping, mapping of QTL/genes, marker development may accelerate the varietal development and release. This outstanding cost-effective break-through marks a significant leap in rice breeding addressing climate change and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clubroot disease caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae is becoming a serious threat to rapeseed (Brassica napus) production worldwide. Breeding resistant varieties using CR (clubroot resistance) loci is the most promising solution. Using marker‐assisted selection and speed‐breeding technologies, we generated Brassica napus materials in homozygous or heterozygous states using CRA3.7, CRA08.1, and CRA3.2 loci in the elite parental line of the Zhongshuang11 background. We developed three elite lines with two CR loci in different combinations and one line with three CR loci at the homozygous state. In our study, we used six different clubroot strains (Xinmin, Lincang, Yuxi, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Jixi) which are categorized into three groups based on our screening results. The newly pyramided lines with two or more CR loci displayed better disease resistance than the parental lines carrying single CR loci. There is an obvious gene dosage effect between CR loci and disease resistance levels. For example, pyramided lines with triple CR loci in the homozygous state showed superior resistance for all pathogens tested. Moreover, CR loci in the homozygous state are better on disease resistance than the heterozygous state. More importantly, no negative effect was observed on agronomic traits for the presence of multiple CR loci in the same background. Overall, these data suggest that the pyramiding of triple clubroot resistance loci conferred superior resistance with no negative effects on agronomic traits in Brassica napus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speed breeding (SB) is an effective solution to enhance genetic gain. We advanced 14 intraspecific and interspecific lentil populations from F2 to F6 generation under a SB growth chamber applying an extended photoperiod of 18h light (23-25 °C)/6h darkness (14-16 °C). Six generations per year were achieved with an average generation cycle ranging from 62 to 76 days, demonstrating the effectiveness of SB in reducing generation time. More than 1500 F6-7 single plant-row advanced lines obtained from the populations were grown as observation nurseries under field conditions for seed multiplication and preliminary selection prior to their introduction in yield trials in the perspective of identifying new improved varieties. In addition to higher genetic gain, the SB method is resource efficient and easy to implement in small-scale breeding programs. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing effective implementation of SB protocol in lentil breeding pipeline in Africa and the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat, a primary staple food in numerous countries, is extensively cultivated worldwide due to its adaptability. It constitutes a significant portion of the global calorie intake, accounting for approximately 20% of the total. Wheat cultivation spans a vast area of 215 million hectares, resulting in a worldwide production of 772 million metric tons. One of the major challenges in wheat breeding is the lengthy process of selecting homozygous genotypes. However, a valuable technique called speed breeding has been developed to address this bottleneck. Speed breeding significantly reduces the time required for variety development and selection, allowing the production of 5 to 6 wheat generations per year. Despite the accelerated growth achieved through speed breeding, the size of wheat plants remains shorter compared to traditional methods, although biomass has a positive correlation with plant yield. Biomass accumulation is influenced by the activity of the vital enzyme RuBisCO. An experiment was conducted on five wheat genotypes under normal sunlight and controlled conditions using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to evaluate RuBisCO activity. The experiment followed a factorial, completely randomized design with three replications. Various traits, including plant height, flag leaf area, spike length, stomata size, chlorophyll content, biomass, and 1000-grain weight, were measured and showed significant differences among the genotypes and treatments. Proteomics analysis using SDS-PAGE revealed variability in RuBisCO protein expression between normal and controlled plants. Light intensity was also measured for sunlight and the speed of breeding chamber lights. The findings highlight the critical role of light intensity, which remains an indispensable factor in studies about biomass-related research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a common staple food widely cultivated and consumed globally. The increase in world population and slow genetic gain in rice production in the face of a rapidly evolving climate could cause food scarcity and decreased crop productivity. It is crucial to expedite the development and release of climate-resilient crop varieties through selective breeding and improvement to mitigate the impact of climate change. Speed breeding has emerged as a promising tool for rice breeding, offering the potential to accelerate the generation time. By streamlining the breeding process and reducing the time taken for each generation, speed breeding empowers breeders to screen for desired traits rapidly and efficiently, enhancing the selection and development of improved rice varieties to meet the growing global demand for food. This review focuses on the applications of speed breeding technology to accelerate rice breeding and further highlights the critical factors for speed breeding development in rice production, such as temperature, humidity, light, and genetic diversity. Understanding and optimizing these factors is vital in successfully implementing speed breeding technology in developing robust, high-yielding, and climate-resilient rice varieties for feeding the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is a major food crop that plays a crucial role in the human diet. Various breeding technologies have been developed and refined to meet the increasing global wheat demand. Several studies have suggested breeding strategies that combine generation acceleration systems and molecular breeding methods to maximize breeding efficiency. However, real-world examples demonstrating the effective utilization of these strategies in breeding programs are lacking. In this study, we designed and demonstrated a synergized breeding strategy (SBS) that combines rapid and efficient breeding techniques, including speed breeding, speed vernalization, phenotypic selection, backcrossing, and marker-assisted selection. These breeding techniques were tailored to the specific characteristics of the breeding materials and objectives. Using the SBS approach, from artificial crossing to the initial observed yield trial under field conditions only took 3.5 years, resulting in a 53% reduction in the time required to develop a BC2 nearisogenic line (NIL) and achieving a higher recurrent genome recovery of 91.5% compared to traditional field conditions. We developed a new wheat NIL derived from cv. Jokyoung, a leading cultivar in Korea. Milyang56 exhibited improved protein content, sodium dodecyl sulfate-sedimentation value, and loaf volume compared to Jokyoung, which were attributed to introgression of the Glu-B1i allele from the donor parent, cv. Garnet. SBS represents a flexible breeding model that can be applied by breeders for developing breeding materials and mapping populations, as well as analyzing the environmental effects of specific genes or loci and for trait stacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breeders are turning to rapid breeding methods in order to respond to the increasing population for the breeding of the wheat plant, which has a very important place in human nutrition. One of the biotechnological methods to shorten wheat breeding, which takes 15-20 years with classical breeding methods, is double haploid. The aim of this study is to obtain double haploid lines by taking wheat genotypes that have reached the F2 generation after hybridization into anther culture and thus shorten the breeding period. When looking at the response to anther culture of the 15 different F2 combinations used in the study, F2-7 and F2-10 genotypes stood out as the most successful genotypes. It was observed that 4 different groups were formed among 15 genotypes according to the success rate. It was concluded that the success of anther culture varies depending on the genotypes used, the nutrient media and the suitability of laboratory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As climate changes and a growing global population continue to escalate the need for greater production capabilities of food crops, technological advances in agricultural and crop research will remain a necessity. While great advances in crop improvement over the past century have contributed to massive increases in yield, classic breeding schemes lack the rate of genetic gain needed to meet future demands. In the past decade, new breeding techniques and tools have been developed to aid in crop improvement. One such advancement is the use of speed breeding. Speed breeding is known as the application of methods that significantly reduce the time between crop generations, thereby streamlining breeding and research efforts. These rapid-generation advancement tactics help to accelerate the pace of crop improvement efforts to sustain food security and meet the food, feed, and fiber demands of the world's growing population. Speed breeding may be achieved through a variety of techniques, including environmental optimization, genomic selection, CRISPR-Cas9 technology, and epigenomic tools. This review aims to discuss these prominent advances in crop breeding technologies and techniques that have the potential to greatly improve plant breeders' ability to rapidly produce vital cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, BC1F3:4 generation plants derived from the hybrid crosses of Rio Blanco × Nevzatbey, Rio Blanco × Adana99, and Rio Blanco × line 127 were used as experimental material. These hybrids incorporated QTLs associated with pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) resistance through molecular techniques. Key agronomic traits, including plant height, spike length, the number of grains per spike, grain weight, and physiological maturity, were evaluated in both greenhouse and growth room settings under accelerated growth (speed breeding) conditions. Results indicated that plants grown in the fully controlled greenhouse conditions exhibited superior agronomic performance compared with those cultivated in the growth room. Additionally, germination tests were conducted on each hybrid cross to identify genotypes exhibiting dormancy. The analysis revealed that 11 lines from the Rio Blanco × Nevzatbey combination, eight lines from Rio Blanco × Adana99, and six lines from Rio Blanco × Line 127 had notably low germination indices. Among the three hybrid families, the Rio Blanco × Nevzatbey BC1F3:4 hybrids demonstrated the lowest germination index (0.44). Furthermore, Rio Blanco itself recorded the lowest germination index under both greenhouse (0.02) and growth room (0.24) conditions. These findings suggest that environmental conditions exert a significant influence on the expression of dormancy in these genotypes, even when dormancy genes are present. The lines developed in this research have the potential to serve as elite material in breeding programs aimed at enhancing pre-harvest sprouting resistance.

Summary: To increase rice yields and feed billions of people, it is essential to enhance genetic gains. However, the development of new varieties is hindered by longer generation times and seasonal constraints. To address these limitations, a speed breeding facility has been established and a robust speed breeding protocol, SpeedFlower is developed that allows growing 4–5 generations of indica and/or japonica rice in a year. Our findings reveal that a high red‐to‐blue (2R > 1B) spectrum ratio, followed by green, yellow and far‐red (FR) light, along with a 24‐h long day (LD) photoperiod for the initial 15 days of the vegetative phase, facilitated early flowering. This is further enhanced by 10‐h short day (SD) photoperiod in the later stage and day and night temperatures of 32/30 °C, along with 65% humidity facilitated early flowering ranging from 52 to 60 days at high light intensity (800 μmol m−2 s−1). Additionally, the use of prematurely harvested seeds and gibberellic acid treatment reduced the maturity duration by 50%. Further, SpeedFlower was validated on a diverse subset of 198 rice accessions from 3K RGP panel encompassing all 12 distinct groups of Oryza sativa L. classes. Our results confirmed that using SpeedFlower one generation can be achieved within 58–71 days resulting in 5.1–6.3 generations per year across the 12 sub‐groups. This breakthrough enables us to enhance genetic gain, which could feed half of the world's population dependent on rice. We've developed a robust SpeedFlower protocol for rapid rice breeding, enabling 4–5 generations of indica and/or japonica rice annually. The SpeedFlower protocol was validated on 198 diverse rice accessions, representing all 12 sub‐groups of Oryza sativa L. With a timeframe of 58–71 days per generation, we achieved 5.1–6.3 generations per year. Therefore, SpeedFlower has shown a transformative potential in enhancing genetic gain with the pace of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global agricultural productivity and food security are threatened by climate change, the growing world population, and the difficulties posed by the pandemic era. To overcome these challenges and meet food requirements, breeders have applied and implemented different advanced techniques that accelerate plant development and increase crop selection effectiveness. However, only two or three generations could be advanced annually using these approaches. Speed breeding (SB) is an innovative and promising technology to develop new varieties in a shorter time, utilizing the manipulation of controlled environmental conditions. This strategy can reduce the generation length from 2.5 to 5 times compared to traditional methods and accelerate generation advancement and crop improvement, accommodating multiple generations of crops per year. Beside long breeding cycles, SB can address other challenges related to traditional breeding, such as response to environmental conditions, disease and pest management, genetic uniformity, and improving resource efficiency. Combining genomic approaches such as marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, and genome editing with SB offers the capacity to further enhance breeding efficiency by reducing breeding cycle time, enabling early phenotypic assessment, efficient resource utilization, and increasing selection accuracy and genetic gain per year. Genomics-assisted SB holds the potential to revolutionize plant breeding by significantly accelerating the identification and selection of desirable genetic traits, expediting the development of improved crop varieties crucial for addressing global agricultural challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a significant fiber crop. Being a major contributor to the textile industry requires continuous care and attention. Cotton is subjected to various biotic and abiotic constraints. Among these, biotic factors including cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) are dominant. CLCuV is a notorious disease of cotton and is acquired, carried, and transmitted by the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). A cotton plant affected with CLCuVmay show a wide range of symptoms such as yellowing of leaves, thickening of veins, upward or downward curling, formation of enations, and stunted growth. Though there aremany efforts to protect the crop from CLCuV, long-term results are not yet obtained as CLCuV strains are capable of mutating and overcoming plant resistance. However, systemic-induced resistance using a gene-based approach remained effective until new virulent strains of CLCuV (like Cotton Leaf Curl Burewala Virus and others) came into existence. Disease control by biological means and the development of CLCuV-resistant cotton varieties are in progress. In this review, we first discussed in detail the evolution of cotton and CLCuV strains, the transmission mechanism of CLCuV, the genetic architecture of CLCuV vectors, and the use of pathogen and nonpathogen-based approaches to control CLCuD. Next, we delineate the uses of cutting-edge technologies like genome editing (with a special focus on CRISPR-Cas), next-generation technologies, and their application in cotton genomics and speed breeding to develop CLCuD resistant cotton germplasm in a short time. Finally, we delve into the current obstacles related to cotton genome editing and explore forthcoming pathways for enhancing precision in genome editing through the utilization of advanced genome editing technologies. These endeavors aim to enhance cotton's resilience against CLCuD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the rising requirement for food production, by 2050, it is necessary to increase global production two-fold, necessitating the growth of new crop varieties. However, this process is time-consuming, largely determined by the crop's generation period. To address this challenge, Speed Breeding (SB) technology leverages controlled environmental conditions to accelerate plant development, allowing for the multiplication of many generations per year. SB also allows for the integration of advanced protocols such as gene editing, phenotyping, and genotyping accelerating crop improvement. SB has been effectively applied to various crops, including cereals, pulses and canola crops, producing 4–6 generations in a year. With its application to a wide range of crops and lower labor requirements than breeding methods, SB offers a practical and efficient option for crops with large populations. Speed breeding has come up as a highly efficient and potent method for rapidly developing new plant varieties. Notable successes have been achieved in crops like cereals, oilseed and vegetables where new cultivars have been developed with desirable attributes such as more protein content, disease resistance, salt tolerance and drought tolerance. Overall, speed breeding offers an accessible and transformative option for crop improvement, which will definitely help in global agricultural demand and mitigate the result of climate alteration on agriculture. This review provides a glance of SB's activities across various crops and its significance in the current context of crop improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering fast-changing environment, emerging pathogens, and the imminent need to feed a global population that is predicted to increase to 9–10 billion people by the year 2050, plant breeders are faced with the challenge of exploring more efficient crop improvement strategies. The urgency to enhance crops under these conditions has become a paramount concern for scientists worldwide, as current crop enhancement projects progress at a pace insufficient to meet the growing food demand. Traditional breeding methods, which often take over 10 years to develop high-performing cultivars with desired traits, are proving to be inadequate. However, a new approach known as Speed breeding presents a game-changing opportunity for crop improvement in the face of a changing world offering the potential to significantly accelerate the development, marketing, and commercialization of improved plant varieties. Speed breeding, a methodology that manipulates temperature, light duration, and intensity to accelerate plant development, has emerged as a promising solution for achieving climate resilience, long-term yield, and nutritional security. Recent innovations in breeding technologies, including genotyping, marker-assisted selection (MAS), high throughput phenotyping, genomic selection (GS), overexpression/knock-down transgenic techniques, and genome editing, can be combined with speed breeding to achieve more precise and expedited outcomes in crop enhancement. This review explores the key opportunities and challenges associated with speed breeding to guide pre-breeding and breeding programs. To achieve more efficient outcomes in enhancing major food crops, this review highlights various alternative approaches and strategies adopted for speed breeding. Integrating speed breeding with existing technologies will be essential for future crop breeding success, and concerted efforts and ongoing research holds the potential to pave the way for a resilient and productive agricultural future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice (Orysa sativa L.) is one of the most important food crops in China, playing a major role in guaranteeing food security. Thanks to the development of science and technology, especially the progress of rice breeding technology, there have been two rounds of substantial increase in China's rice yield since the large-scale application of dwarf rice breeding and hybrid rice technology. Consumer demand for rice varieties and rice products is becoming increasingly diversified in the new era, and the current efficiency of rice breeding is still not satisfactory enough to meet future demand. As a self-pollinated crop, rice requires multiple generations of continuous self-crossing to achieve genetic homozygosis and stability in segregating generations during the breeding process. However, the long growth cycle of rice in paddy field and the difficulty of year-round planting have led to a long breeding cycle, which has become one of the crucial bottlenecks in rice breeding. Speed breeding is a new technology rising in recent years that promotes crop growth, flowering and maturation through comprehensive measures such as environmental regulation and growth manipulation to expedite the crop generation advance, which can shorten the "seed to seed" cycle and realize multi-generation breeding annually, and promises to significantly shorten the breeding cycle and improve the breeding efficiency. In this review, we focus on the rice crop and systematically describe the research status and progresses of speed breeding in rice in terms of the rise of crop speed breeding technology, the research overview of rice speed breeding, key genes in rice speed breeding, environmental factors affecting the rice flowering and maturation, and the incorporation of speed breeding and modern breeding technology. Further, we discuss and look forward to the challenges and key directions of future research in this field, aiming to promote the rapid development and application of speed breeding technology in rice, improve the efficiency of rice breeding, and provide useful references for guaranteeing food security and sustainable development of agriculture.

Abstract Background Crop breeding should be accelerated to address global warming and climate change. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major food crop. Speed breeding (SB) and speed vernalization (SV) techniques for spring and winter wheat have recently been established. However, there are few practical examples of these strategies being used economically and efficiently in breeding programs. We aimed to establish and evaluate the performance of a breeder-friendly and energy-saving generation acceleration system by modifying the SV + SB system. Results In this study, a four-generation advancement system for wheat (regardless of its growth habits) was established and evaluated using an energy-efficient extended photoperiod treatment. A glasshouse with a 22-hour photoperiod that used 10 h of natural sunlight and 12 h of LED lights, and minimized temperature control during the winter season, was successful in accelerating generation. Even with one or two field tests, modified speed breeding (mSB) combined with a speed vernalization system (SV + mSB) reduced breeding time by more than half compared to traditional field-based methods. When compared to the existing SV + SB system, the SV + mSB system reduced energy use by 80% to maintain a 22-hour photoperiod. Significant correlations were found between the SV + mSB and field conditions in the number of days to heading (DTH) and culm length (CL). Genetic resources, recombinant inbred lines, and breeding materials that exhibited shorter DTH and CL values under SV + mSB conditions showed the same pattern in the field. Conclusions The results of our SV + mSB model, as well as its practical application in wheat breeding programs, are expected to help breeders worldwide incorporate generation acceleration systems into their conventional breeding programs.

Abstract Salinity and drought stress substantially decrease crop yield and superiority, directly threatening the food supply needed to meet the rising food needs of the growing total population. Nanotechnology is a step towards improving agricultural output and stress tolerance by improving the efficacy of inputs in agriculture via targeted delivery, controlled release, and enhanced solubility and adhesion while also reducing significant damage. The direct application of nanoparticles (NPs)/nanomaterials can boost the performance and effectiveness of physio‐biochemical and molecular mechanisms in plants under stress conditions, leading to advanced stress tolerance. Therefore, we presented the effects and plant responses to stress conditions, and also explored the potential of nanomaterials for improving agricultural systems, and discussed the advantages of applying NPs at various developmental stages to alleviate the negative effects of salinity and drought stress. Moreover, we feature the recent innovations in state‐of‐the‐art nanobiotechnology, specifically NP‐mediated genome editing via CRISPR/Cas system, to develop stress‐smart crops. However, further investigations are needed to unravel the role of nanobiotechnology in addressing climate change challenges in modern agricultural systems. We propose that combining nanobiotechnology, genome editing and speed breeding techniques could enable the designing of climate‐smart cultivars (particularly bred or genetically modified plant varieties) to meet the food security needs of the rising world population.

Global agricultural productivity and food security are threatened by climate change, the growing world population, and the difficulties posed by the pandemic era. To overcome these challenges and meet food requirements, breeders have applied and implemented different advanced techniques that accelerate plant development and increase crop selection effectiveness. However, only two or three generations could be advanced annually using these approaches. Speed breeding (SB) is an innovative and promising technology to develop new varieties in a shorter time, utilizing the manipulation of controlled environmental conditions. This strategy can reduce the generation length from 2.5 to 5 times compared to traditional methods and accelerate generation advancement and crop improvement, accommodating multiple generations of crops per year. Beside long breeding cycles, SB can address other challenges related to traditional breeding, such as response to environmental conditions, disease and pest management, genetic uniformity, and improving resource efficiency. Combining genomic approaches such as marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, and genome editing with SB offers the capacity to further enhance breeding efficiency by reducing breeding cycle time, enabling early phenotypic assessment, efficient resource utilization, and increasing selection accuracy and genetic gain per year. Genomics-assisted SB holds the potential to revolutionize plant breeding by significantly accelerating the identification and selection of desirable genetic traits, expediting the development of improved crop varieties crucial for addressing global agricultural challenges.

Chromosome elimination resulting in haploids is achieved by rapid loss of chromosomes from one parent during the zygote stage and is an important procedure to produce doubled haploid (DH) lines in plants. During crosses between an emasculated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) as pollen donors, the complete loss of maize chromosomes results in wheat haploid embryos. Through embryo rescue and chromosome doubling processes, pure lines with stable traits can be quickly obtained. The technique is called the "Wheat × Maize System". Although this technology is not new, it remains a practical approach to date. In order to optimize and improve this technology and to achieve its maximum potential in the winter wheat area of China, this paper reviews the previous and ongoing research and technical procedures for the production of wheat DH lines via the maize pollen induction and presents outlooks on DH research and its application in wheat breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]