Advances in carrot breeding

Publication date: 09/09/2019
Extent: 40 pages

Contributions by: Emmanuel Geoffriau, Agrocampus Ouest, IRHS, France

Chapter synopsis: The carrot (Daucus carota L.) is an important temperate root crop that has undergone many years of breeding. This chapter first provides a background to the origin of this species, going on to describe the main types of cultivars. The large number of wild relatives of carrot are also discussed. Sections are included on breeding of carrots for both crop performance (covering factors such as yield, resistance to pests and disease and organic production) and for product quality and diversification (variety in colour, nutritional and sensory traits), the latter becoming of growing importance. The main methods and techniques for carrot breeding are discussed, as are the development of new technologies such as sequencing the genome and transcriptome, genome editing and high-throughput phenotyping. A case study on the impact of hybrid carrots is also included, and the chapter concludes with a look to future trends in research.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2019.0045.20