Horticultural Crop Improvement

Horticultural crop improvement encompasses a broad array of strategies to enhance yield, quality, stress resilience and nutritional value in fruits, vegetables, legumes and ornamentals. Traditional breeding has long relied on selection of superior landraces and on crossing with locally adapted varieties, but the integration of molecular tools has greatly accelerated progress. Marker-assisted selection and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping now pinpoint regions controlling traits such as fruit colour, firmness, flowering time and disease resistance. Genomic selection uses genome-wide marker profiles to predict performance of breeding lines, shortening breeding cycles. Introgression from wild relatives and secondary gene pools supplies novel alleles for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, while high-density genotyping and pan-genome assemblies reveal structural variation that underlies adaptation to diverse environments. Emerging technologies—gene editing, cisgenesis and RNA interference—offer precise modification of target genes to improve shelf life, nutrient composition and pest resistance without altering the broader genetic background of elite cultivars. Across horticultural sectors, these innovations are forging resilient, high-performance varieties tuned to local needs and global challenges.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Studies of common bean have demonstrated how hybridisation and adaptive introgression reshape the genomic landscape in new environments. Genome-wide analyses of European cultivars revealed multiple Andean-derived segments that confer adaptation to temperate photoperiods and climatic regimes, offering direct targets for breeding programmes aimed at cold-tolerant bean lines. In a related Phaseolus species, chromosome-level genome assemblies for Lima bean have underpinned the discovery of candidate genes for pod dehiscence and seed development. Comparative population genomics across wild and landrace clusters uncovered structural rearrangements and syntenic blocks with common bean, illuminating the convergent evolution of domestication traits and providing genomic resources for climate-resilient cultivar development. Drought tolerance has also been dissected in citrus rootstocks: grafting experiments between dehydration-avoidant and dehydration-tolerant genotypes showed that elevated abscisic and salicylic acid levels, combined with carbohydrate accumulation and antioxidant enzyme activities, not only confer rootstock resilience but also confer improved performance to grafted scions under water deficit.

Horticultural Crop Improvement publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in horticultural crop improvement across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Quantitative trait locus (QTL): A genomic region statistically associated with variation in a continuous trait such as fruit size, firmness or stress tolerance.

Introgression: The incorporation of genetic material from one population or species into another through repeated hybridisation and backcrossing, often bringing adaptive alleles into elite backgrounds.

Genomic selection: A breeding approach that uses genome-wide marker data to predict the performance of individuals before phenotypic evaluation, thus accelerating selection cycles.

Marker-assisted selection: The use of molecular markers closely linked to target genes or QTLs to guide breeding decisions without waiting for full trait expression.

Cisgenesis: Genetic modification in which genes and regulatory elements are transferred between cross-compatible plants, maintaining original gene structure and orientation.

References

1. Selection and adaptive introgression guided the complex evolutionary history of the European common bean. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Comprehensive genomic resources related to domestication and crop improvement traits in Lima bean. Nature Communications (2021).
3. Survival strategies of citrus rootstocks subjected to drought. Scientific Reports (2016).
4. High resolution mapping of QTLs for fruit color and firmness in Amrapali/Sensation mango hybrids. Frontiers in Plant Science (2023).
5. MiSNPDb: a web-based genomic resources of tropical ecology fruit mango (Mangifera indica L.) for phylogeography and varietal differentiation. Scientific Reports (2017).
6. Phenotypic and Molecular Characterization of Mango Cultivars in Southwest Nigeria. International Journal of Fruit Science (2022).