Plant Breeding Approaches for Enhancing Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crops: A Review

Abiotic stresses significantly impact crop productivity, posing a major challenge to global food security, particularly in the context of changing climate. Traditional breeding methods have made progress, but their limitations in addressing complex traits like abiotic stress tolerance highlight the need for innovative approaches. Besides conventional breeding approaches, this paper explores advancements in modern breeding techniques, including marker-assisted selection, tissue culture and genetic engineering, which offer new avenues for developing stress-resilient crop varieties. It also underscores the potential of crop wild relatives and landraces as underutilized reservoirs of genetic diversity for abiotic stress tolerance. The integration of conventional breeding with molecular tools, such as gene pyramiding, QTL mapping and genomic selection, has accelerated the identification and incorporation of desirable traits. Emerging technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 and omics-based approaches further enhance precision and efficiency in breeding programs. This review emphasizes the importance of harnessing diverse genetic resources, optimizing breeding strategies and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations to address current and future challenges. This provides a roadmap for sustainable crop improvement, paving the way for resilient agricultural systems in the face of climate variability.