Preface

Tropical plants include fruit, flowering (indoor and outdoor), climbers, and herbaceous (including perennials, annuals, and bulbous plants), as well as palms, ferns, and other species. Several factors need to be taken into account to grow these plant species successfully in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Soil, nutrition, and water management; insect and disease management; and genetic improvement through novel approaches are among these factors. This makes these plants more important to farmers, breeders, and technologists looking to increase their sustainable output.

*Tropical Plant Species and Technological Interventions for Improvement* consists of thirteen chapters organized in an easy-to-follow manner. In the introductory chapter titled "Integrative Technologies for Sustainable Plant Improvement," Khan comprehensively highlights the use of technological advances in improving plant genetics for agronomy and value addition. Chapter 2, "Emerging Trends to Improve Tropical Plants: Biotechnological Interventions", by Ali and colleagues, discusses the importance of conventional and modern scientific approaches for the conservation and improvement of tropical plant species. They further explain how the information retrieved from pan-genome, super-pan-genome, and pan-transcriptome has enriched marker-assisted selection, molecular breeding, and transgenic approaches in the sustainable development of tropical plants. Enoki and Takahara in Chapter 3, "Applications of Biotechnological Approaches in the Product and Breeding of *Phalaenopsis* Orchids", discuss the role of biotechnology in improving the orchid industry and highlight how it will benefit researchers, producers, and fanciers of *Phalaenopsis* orchids. In Chapter 4, "Lesser Known African Indigenous Tree and Fruit Plants: Recent Evidence from Literatures and Regular Cultivation Culture", Baiyeri and Olajide suggest exploiting the indigenous plant species as a key resource for ensuring healthy food systems in Africa. Chapter 5, "Challenges and Advances in the Production of Export-Quality Macadamia and Its Integral Use with Green Technologies", by Mereles and colleagues, highlights the technologies used to process macadamia nuts for the development of products of high nutritional quality. Burns and colleagues in Chapter 6, "Papaya: The Versatile Tropical Fruit", explain the pros and cons of papaya production technologies and the benefits of multidisciplinary approaches to enhancing the effective farm management and production of quality fruits for consumption and processing. Shah and team in Chapter 7, "Tamarillo (*Cyphomandra betacea* (Cav.)) Origin, Cultivation, Breeding and Management", discuss breeding, production, and consumption technologies of the Tamarillo fruit plant. In Chapter 8, "The Production and Marketing Issues of Pineapple (*Ananas comosus*) under Humid Tropical Conditions in the State of Tabasco and Way-out", Jeronimo and colleagues describe pineapple production technologies for domestic and foreign markets. In Chapter 9, "Cassava Production Enterprise in the Tropics", Raufu Olusola Sanusi et al, explain the production technology and integrated weed and pest management of cassava. Chapter 10 by Mahfut, "Identification of Native *Dendrobium* Based on Morphological and Anatomical Characters in Liwa Botanical Garden",

describes the development of a key for the identification of orchid plants. Kennedy and Lekshmi highlight key technological advances in tropical pest management using host resistance, natural enemies, selective pesticides, ecological engineering, and habitat management strategies in Chapter 11, "Holistic Pest Management Strategies in Tropical Plant Species". In Chapter 12, "Phytochemical Contents of Essential Oils from *Cymbopogon* Species: A Tropical Medicinal Plant", Oniha and colleagues explain improvements in extraction and quantification techniques to harvest a pure yield of essential oils from lemongrass. In Chapter 13, "Effects of the Invasive Alien *Prosopis juliflora* (Sw.) DC and Its Management Options in Ethiopia: A Review", Shiferaw and Demissew discuss the invasion of *Prosopis juliflora* and its management options in Ethiopia.

> **Muhammad Sarwar Khan, Ph.D.** Center of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology (CABB), Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

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**Chapter 1**

**1. Introduction**

Improvement

*Muhammad Sarwar Khan*

Introductory Chapter: Integrative

Technologies for Sustainable Plant

Agriculture systems around the world must produce more food while producing less waste. Sustainable agricultural practices and food systems, which cover both production and consumption, must be evaluated holistically and fully to be effective. Tropical plants include fruit, climbers, flowering perennials, annuals, and bulbous plants as well as indoor and outdoor floral plants. Also included in the list of tropical plant species are ferns, palms, and other plants. To grow these plant species successfully in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, several factors are needed to be taken care of. Because they are crucial to food production and are getting harder to get in many parts of the world, healthy soils, clean water, and plant genetic resources must all be used and maintained sustainably. With the expectation that there would be 9 billion people on the planet by the year 2050, an increase in crop output and quality would be necessary to satisfy the needs. An expanded discussion on how to grow fruit and ornamental plants for esthetic, dietary, and nutraceutical benefits may be found in the introductory chapter. The impact of technological advancements on the sustainable cultivation of plants is also examined. Further, the integrative strategies including OMICS and reliable methods for gene discovery and genome sequencing, as well as the application of CRISPR/Cas and gRNA/Cas, organelles transformation innovations, and value-adding strategies such as biopharming to create superior plants for agronomic, industrial, and value-adding features are highlighted.

**2. Tropical plants: economic and nutritional importance**

Tropical plants are essential for providing food, fiber, and shelter, but they also have esthetic value because of their lovely hues, fragrances, and greens, which also have a cooling effect from evapotranspiration. They are crucial for people living not only in tropical areas but also in other parts of the world's economies, cultures, and spiritual life. For example, there are over 100 different varieties of the 400 different species of bananas that are grown in Africa alone, nearly 1 million hectares of coffee plantations in Brazil, 2 million hectares of sugarcane plantations in Hawaii, and over 3 million hectares of rice paddies in tropical regions of Asia. Compared with plants found in temperate climates, tropical plants are significantly different. They thrive in a variety of environments, but particularly in rainforests, and have evolved to
