Genetic Diversity Assessment in Vegetable Crops

Genetic diversity plays a significant role in the improvement of the fruits and vegetables. Vegetables are the major sources of vitamins, proteins, fibers, and minerals, and are essential for human health. The wild relatives are considered as the major sources for identifying the important genes responsible for improving genetic diversity in fruits and vegetables. The genetic diversity is well known to enhance the adaptability of the plants toward varied environmental conditions. Further, the yields in certain plants are known to be better compared to their wild relatives in providing maximum output along with the nutritional qualities. This improvement in the genetic diversity can help in reducing the challenging malnutrition problems in many countries. In this chapter, our focus is on the genetic diversity in some important vegetable families including green leafy vegetables which also respond to growth, stresses, and plant breeding techniques along with genetic manipulations for improving the growth and yields in vegetables with careful study of wild relatives and their genes responsible in affecting the modern cultivars. This chapter deals with the importance of genetic diversity in plant conservation as it promotes growth in the plants, resistance toward stresses, and the measures and threats caused by the loss of genetic diversity in vegetable crops.