Breeding Cauliflower: A Review

ABSTRACT

Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.) is continually being improved to increase sustainability of production, enhance nutritional quality, and reduce waste. Development of resistances against abiotic (high temperature and rainfall) and biotic stresses (diseases and insects) is necessary for this purpose. Breeding plays a vital role in addressing these issues through development of superior varieties/hybrids. Globally, more than 20,000 accessions of C-genome taxa of B. oleracea are maintained in over 100 gene banks; European countries host the world’s largest and most diverse collections. The favorable genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) for various traits of economic importance are scattered across cultivated types, breeding lines, and wild populations (i.e., primary, secondary, tertiary, and other gene pools) of B. oleracea, with efforts being made to integrate two- or multitiered breeding approaches for broadening the genetic base and introgressing genes and QTL of resistance, quality, and productivity into elite backgrounds. The F₁ hybrids that largely replace open-pollinated varieties offer desirability, uniformity, and consistency of vigor, yield, and quality, but their commercial seed production faces technical difficulties, which can be overcome by developing a robust system of self-incompatibility (SI), Ogura cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), and doubled haploid (DH) parental lines, as well as proper management of pollinators. The rapidly growing knowledge of advance tools of parental line development, molecular markers, and biotechnological techniques will provide enhanced precision and extend options to support future cauliflower breeding programs.

KEYWORDS:

• Brassica oleracea
• Cytoplasmic male sterility
• Molecular marker
• Self-incompatibility