Drought Stress Tolerance: Plant Resistance Through Breeding and Molecular Approaches

Drought stress poses a significant threat to global agriculture, affecting crop productivity and food security. Plant breeding offers a promising solution to enhance drought stress tolerance in crops. Through selective breeding, researchers aim to develop varieties with traits such as deep root systems, efficient water use, and osmotic adjustment mechanisms. This involves identifying and incorporating genes associated with drought tolerance from wild relatives or diverse germplasms into breeding programs. Additionally, modern biotechnological tools like marker-assisted selection and genomic selection accelerate the breeding process by enabling the identification of desirable traits at the molecular level. By integrating traditional breeding techniques with cutting-edge technologies, breeders can develop resilient crop varieties capable of withstanding drought conditions, ensuring sustainable agricultural production in the face of climate change. This book provides significant information on plant breeding to help develop a good understanding of plant biotechnology and related fields. It explores all the important aspects of drought stress tolerance in plants in the present day scenario. For someone with an interest and eye for detail, this book covers the most significant topics in this field.