Integration of Genetic Tools: Strategies for Combining Traditional and Modern Breeding to Combat Plant Diseases

In the face of the ongoing threat posed by plant diseases to global food security, this article reviews the integrative relationship between conventional and modern plant breeding strategies. While conventional breeding, based on phenotypic selection and hybridization, laid the historical foundation for crop improvement, modern genetic tools have brought about a qualitative leap in the precision and efficiency of this science. The paper advances a central hypothesis: strategic integration of the accumulated wisdom of conventional breeding with the power of molecular tools is no longer optional but an imperative for developing disease-resistant cultivars that are both effective and sustainable. To demonstrate this, key areas of integration are reviewed, including marker-assisted selection (MAS), genomic selection (GS), and gene pyramiding, highlighting the role of genetic engineering and editing as supporting tools for introducing novel genetic diversity. The article concludes that this systematic integration significantly accelerates the pace of breeding programs, enhances their precision, and ultimately leads to the production of agricultural varieties with more robust and sustainable resistance, thereby strengthening the capacity to address future challenges in agricultural production.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  European Journal of Ecology, Biology and Agriculture

• Publication date

  2025-07-01

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.59324/ejeba.2025.2(4).07
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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