Role of genetic engineering in horticultural crop improvement -A review

Biotechnology has offered tremendous scope and potential to conventional methods of crop improvement, crop protection, crop quality management and other horticultural traits. Biotechnology extends tremendous opportunities in fruit production by providing new genotypes for breeding purpose, supply of healthy and disease free planting material, improvement in fruit quality, enhancing shelf-life, availability of biopesticides, biofertilizers, etc. Integration of specially desired traits through genetic engineering has been possible in some horticultural crops. Recent advancements in molecular biology and genetic transformation have made it possible to identify, isolate and transfer desirable genes from any living organism to plants. The introduction or enhancement of desirable traits is traditionally done by breeding. This is time consuming and also not very precise. On the other hand, genetic engineering creates plants with specific changes in the background of a proven cultivar without disturbing their genetic constitution. Expression of undesirable genes can be blocked by the application of antisense gene technology and RNAi technology. Genetic transformation provides the means for modifying horticultural traits in various horticultural crops without altering their phenotype. Biotechnological interventions that could increase the efficiency of horticultural crop improvement are essential to generate plants with several desirable traits.