Seed Biotechnologies in Practicing Sustainable Agriculture: Insights and Achievements in the Decade 2014–2024

Abstract

While agricultural crops remain at the forefront of addressing global food demands and malnutrition, depleting resources, fluctuating climatic conditions, and the adverse impact of biotic/abiotic stresses define a major challenge. Plant seeds comprise an important starting material for plant propagation, in vitro generation, and conservation, and are crucial factors in determining the quality and yield of the desired crops. The expanding horizon of precision agriculture suggests that high-quality seeds could promote crop productivity up to 15–20 percent, attributed to emerging biotechnological innovations in seed science and research. In addition, seed science comprises an integral aspect of sustainable development goals (SDGs), and plays a crucial role in Climate Action (SDG 13) and Zero hunger (SDG 2). While synthetic seed technologies highlight prospects in the propagation and conservation of key plant species, seed biopriming to address environmental stresses is innovative in climate-smart agriculture. The article discusses key developments in advanced seed biotechnologies, ranging from nano-enabled seed treatments to the non-coding RNA-mediated determination of seed traits and genetic manipulation of seeds for quality improvement. Research employing multi-omics, bioinformatics, and seed biopharming for the enhanced production of high-value metabolites is opening new avenues in seed biology and biotechnology research.