Global population growth, climate variability, labour scarcity, and declining availability of arable land have intensified the demand for sustainable and resource-efficient weed management strategies in rice production systems. Herbicide-resistant (HR) rice has emerged as a transformative innovation capable of improving weed control efficiency, facilitating direct-seeded rice cultivation, reducing labour dependency, and enhancing yield stability under diverse agroecological conditions. This review critically examines the evolution of HR rice technologies, herbicide modes of action, resistance mechanisms, and integrated weed management approaches, with particular emphasis on the convergence of conventional breeding, biotechnology, and advanced genome editing platforms for the development of next-generation HR rice varieties. The review further explores the agronomic, ecological, and socio-economic dimensions associated with HR rice adoption, including challenges related to HR weed evolution, gene flow to wild and weedy rice relatives, biodiversity loss, ecological imbalance, and long-term sustainability concerns. The concept of the HR rice paradox is introduced to describe the delicate balance between agricultural intensification and ecological stewardship, where enhanced weed management efficiency must be aligned with environmental safety and sustainable farming practices. The review emphasizes that the future success of HR rice depends on integrated strategies combining genetic innovation, region-specific agronomic management, resistance monitoring, and policy frameworks to ensure sustainable rice production, food security, and environmentally responsible agricultural transformation aligned with global sustainability goals.
Agricultural systems are increasingly challenged by climate change, resource scarcity, environmental degradation, and the need to ensure food security for a growing global population. Addressing these multifaceted challenges requires innovative, science-driven approaches that enhance productivity while promoting ecological sustainability. This editorial examines the evolving role of plant biotechnology as a key driver of modern agricultural advancement, highlighting recent developments in genomics, multi-omics technologies, molecular breeding, genome editing, plant tissue culture, and digital agriculture. It discusses how these technologies contribute to the development of resilient crop varieties with improved tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, enhanced nutrient-use efficiency, and superior agronomic performance. The editorial further emphasizes the integration of artificial intelligence, high-throughput phenotyping, bioinformatics, and systems biology into precision crop improvement, enabling more efficient translation of molecular discoveries into field applications. The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, responsible innovation, biosafety, and science-based regulatory frameworks is also considered in supporting the sustainable deployment of emerging biotechnologies. Looking ahead, the convergence of advanced molecular tools with computational and ecological sciences is expected to accelerate the development of resilient agricultural systems capable of addressing future environmental and food production challenges. Continued investment in research, technological innovation, and international collaboration will be essential to maximize the societal and environmental benefits of next-generation crop improvement strategies.
Md. Mosharraf Hossen· Journal of Agriculture and F...· 0 citations
By combining genomic data with precision breeding techniques, researchers are developing crops that are better adapted to a growing population and a changing climate, positioning the integration of molecular breeding and bioinformatics as a central pillar of future global food security.
Muhammad Shahid Iqbal, Z. Sarfraz, Muhammad Mujahid et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
This critical narrative review evaluates the evidence available across four distinct intervention pathways: editing crops for selective herbicide tolerance; editing crop hosts to resist parasitic weeds; editing weeds for functional genomics or direct fitness manipulation; and developing gene-drive systems for population suppression or restoration of herbicide susceptibility.
M. Karthik, V. Chandrika, D. Subramanyam et al.· Journal of Scientific Resear...· 0 citations
Plant breeding has progressed from phenotype-based selection to increasingly precise genetic and agronomic interventions. Advances in molecular breeding, genome engineering, and crop management have improved productivity, but have also promoted the widespread use of genetically uniform cultivars optimized for controlled production systems. While uniformity facilitates predictability and mechanization, it may constrain adaptive capacity under increasingly variable environmental conditions. In parallel, recent developments in digital agriculture, including high-resolution phenotyping, remote-sensing, molecular diagnostics, and AI-assisted decision support, are transforming the ability to monitor and manage biological variation across spatial and temporal scales. In this review, we examine how these technological advances intersect with emerging concepts in crop diversity and reproductive biology. We discuss how digital agriculture enables improved characterization of genotype-environment interactions and consider reproductive mechanisms that expand the accessible breeding space beyond conventional biparental crossing schemes, including haploid induction and multi-parental breeding. These approaches provide opportunities to accelerate trait introgression, generate novel genetic combinations, and overcome reproductive barriers. We argue that digital and diagnostic agriculture provide an informational framework for the deployment and evaluation of genetically heterogeneous plant populations. Together, recent advances suggest that technological precision and biological diversity can be integrated into breeding strategies that improve productivity and resilience.