Emerging Trends and Promising Technologies

Abstract

AbstractThe growing demands for improved seeds of food, vegetables, flowers, other horticultural species, feed, fibre, forage, and fuel crops are driving the global seed industry at a CAGR of 6.6%, which is expected to grow from a market size of USD 63 billion in 2021 to USD 86.8 billion by 2026. This will primarily depend on two key features, genetic enhancement of the crop variety and seed quality. The focus of varietal improvement will be not only on yield increase but also on tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses to meet the challenges of climate change, better input use efficiency, and improvement of the nutritional value. Advanced molecular tools and techniques including gene editing are likely to be used for precision breeding. The scope of seed quality, on the other hand, will grow beyond the basic parameters of purity, germination, and health, to the ability to perform better under adverse growing conditions, supplement the nutrient deficiency in the soil, and withstand pests during seed germination and early growth stages. Seed enhancement technologies will complement the genetic enhancement, as the advancements in seed technology will become an integral part of future crop improvement programmes. This will call for more efficient and precise technologies for determining quality parameters and predicting seed longevity, which will need to be developed using advanced marker technologies, 3D and multispectral imaging analysis, digital phenotyping, and other non-destructive methods. Novel approaches of hybrid seed production, including apomixis and doubled haploidy, will be integrated further for their commercial application. Multi-dimensional approaches need to be taken for addressing the gaps in understanding the key physiological processes underlying the regulation of dormancy (and pre-harvest sprouting), germination, recalcitrance, loss of viability, and seed priming.