Biotechnology and horticultural crops: A helpful approach for betterment

Biotechnology is considered one of the key means to the country to achieve the goals of development strategies. Nowadays, there are several research groups spread all over the country, and dedicated to projects in horticultural biotechnology, quite strategic in the short- and long-term runs, as follows: development of insect or disease resistant crops and tolerant to abiotic stresses; improvement of nutritional composition of edible crops; manipulation of secondary metabolite routes in plants; reduction of post-harvest storing losses, shorting juvenile cycles for rapid improvement of native and exotic forest and fruit trees, and reduction of lignin content in wood species.