Ornamental Plant Breeding for Improved Floral Attributes: Entering a New Era

In the continuously developing ornamental sector, it is imperative to create and introduce innovative cultivars with improved characteristics. The main objective of floriculture is the development of new ornamental plants with enhanced floral qualities which increases the aesthetic appeal of plants. Traditional breeding along with molecular breeding is one of the major tools that can be utilized for the improvement of traits like flower color, shape, vase life, odor, flowering time, and flower development. Many plant varieties with different floral variants have been produced by conventional breeding approaches, but the understanding of genetic control governing crucial traits remains unclear. With the availability of molecular breeding tools and whole genome sequences, substantial progress has been seen in improving important traits in ornamental plants. These platforms aid in the identification of a large number of markers for QTL mapping and marker-assisted selection to dissect the genetic control of complex traits. Therefore, combining breeding with high throughput sequencing provides a better understanding of the molecular and regulatory processes which makes it possible to accelerate the improvement and development of new plant varieties with desirable floral traits.