| Popis: |
Contributions to tropical fruit improvement by conventional plant breeding have been limited by complex genetic systems, extended juvenility, lack of knowledge, and in many cases, lack of effort. Most of today’s important tropical fruit cultivars arose from the selection of mutations within existing clones, or by selections from seedling populations derived from open pollinations. Due to the increasing significance of tropical fruits for food and export income, there has been a recent expansion of effort and resources devoted to tropical fruit cultivar improvement. Many programs are attempting to integrate emerging biotechnologies with conventional breeding methods to facilitate and expedite cultivar improvement. The objective of this chapter is to provide some pertinent information regarding in vitro methods for tropical fruit improvement, along with a discussion of how such methods can be applied to the genetic improvement of tropical fruits, with emphasis on increasing fruit quality and resistance to disease and environmental stress. |
