**4. Conclusion**

The adoption of speed breeding protocols in crop improvement programs will hasten the breeding cycle to a great extent with improved selection efficiency. It promotes the rapid delivery of resilient varieties by integrating modern breeding techniques with generation advancement protocols. The superior genotype with improvement over multiple traits such as yield, quality, biotic, and abiotic stress resistance can be developed at a minimal period with the inclusion of high-throughput genotyping and phenotyping platforms in speed breeding. Many superior varieties have been rapidly developed in economically important species through the exploitation of speed breeding techniques. The inclusion of genomic selection approaches in speed breeding paved the way for the improvement of complex traits governing resistance. Few modified conventional approaches *viz*., single plant selection, single-pod descent, and singleseed descent are included in speed breeding protocols which greatly reduced the limitations of long generation time, cost, and labor. The evolution of advanced genomic techniques coupled with rapid gene fixation approaches offers faster realization of genetic gain in crop breeding programs. In addition to accelerated progression toward the attainment of homozygosity, the speed breeding protocols also prove efficient in the rapid evaluation of genetically modified/transformed lines of a crop species. The standardized speed breeding protocols suitable for small environments are now available with modification provisions to meet the local needs. However, it still remains a less adopted choice in many developing countries due to cost-expensive infrastructure development, lack of trained professionals, unsupportive policies, no proper financial support from the public domain and lack of essential resources. With the coordination of multidisciplinary organization, speed breeding becomes an efficient tool to meet ever-challenging food demand under changing climatic conditions.
