This book explores speed breeding techniques and their transformative potential for crop improvement. It highlights the importance of these advancements in enhancing global food security and agricultural sustainability. By examining specific applications across various crops, such as wheat, barley, rice, legumes, pulses, fruits, and vegetables, it emphasizes the critical role of speed breeding in trait enhancement, stress tolerance, and yield improvement. By integrating speed breeding with genomic selection, CRISPR/Cas-mediated gene editing, and omics technologies, the book addresses pressing challenges and underscores the significance of predictive analytics, automation, and future innovations like vertical farming for ensuring efficient and resilient agricultural practices.

As this book covers both the theoretical and practical elements of contemporary plant breeding procedures, researchers, agronomists, and agricultural students, will find it to be quite beneficial. It also offers industry professionals with practical advice on how to maximize agricultural output, nutritional value and flexibility in the face of global problems.

Dr. Jitender Kumar is currently working as a National Post-Doctoral Fellow (NPDF) in agri-biotech at BRIC- National Agri-Food & Biomanufacturing Institute (NABI), Mohali, India. He holds a master’s in Biotechnology and Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut, India. His work focuses on developing micronutrient-rich wheat, association mapping of traits like micronutrient contents for wheat biofortification and other quantitate traits in wheat. He employs genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify genes and markers for improving iron, zinc, protein content, and grain yield. His contributions include recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations, KASP markers, and multi-trait GWAS, advancing wheat biofortification. 

Dr. Joy K. Roy is currently working as a scientist-G and coordinator of speed breeding facility, at the BRIC- National Agri-Food & Biomanufacturing Institute (NABI), Mohali, India. He holds a M.Sc. in botany from the University of Calcutta and a Ph.D. in agricultural botany (genetics and plant breeding) from Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut, India. Dr. Roy has pioneered high-throughput DNA marker development, using next-generation sequencing to identify SNPs and SSRs that enhance processing and nutritional quality in Indian wheat. His research on starch biosynthesis has identified key gene networks, leading to low-glycemic-index wheat for diabetic populations. With 95+ research papers, he continues to integrate genomic tools to boost wheat productivity and quality, addressing complex genetic mechanisms.