One of the limiting factors in breeding and genetic research is the time required to develop pure lines. This is due, on the one hand, to the prolonged vegetative period of a single generation and, on the other hand, to the specifics of inbreeding, which typically requires 4–6 consecutive generations of self-pollination in plant material. Researchers have always sought approaches that enable the rapid development of homozygous plant lines. Consequently, methods such as greenhouse cultivation during the autumn-winter period, single-seed descent, shuttle breeding, embryo culture, and doubled haploid technology have been introduced into practice. All these methods have both advantages and limitations. One of the latest approaches facilitating a significant reduction in the vegetative period of plants is speed breeding (SB). This method is based on the application of factors that shorten the time from sowing to flowering, as well as techniques that accelerate the generative phase of development and overcome postharvest dormancy. This review provides a comprehensive list and characterization of all factors that influence the efficiency of speed breeding to varying degrees. Among the factors discussed that reduce the sowing-to-flowering period are photoperiod, light sources, spectral composition and light intensity, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, vernalization, mineral nutrition, substrate volume, mechanical shoot removal, and the use of plant growth regulators. To shorten the generative phase, the review summarizes the application of embryo culture and forced desiccation of immature seeds, along with methods to overcome postharvest dormancy. Additionally, applications of genetic approaches and genetic engineering for shortening generation time in speed breeding are described. The review also consolidates detailed protocols for approximately thirty crops. The high efficiency of speed breeding in reducing both the vegetative period per generation and the time required to develop pure lines has led to its increasing adoption in various research fields. This review highlights the application of speed breeding for hybridization and pure line development, introgression of target alleles, and genomic selection. A list of phenotypic traits exhibiting high correlation between controlled-environment and field conditions is provided.

A β-lactams that act by inhibiting the bacterial cell wall biosynthesis are one of the most common classes of antibiotics applied to suppress the growth of latent bacterial infection associated with the plant tissue culture, as well as in the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation techniques. Plant sensitivity to antibiotics usually is species-, genotype-, or even tissue-specific and mainly depends on concentrations, growth conditions, and culture system. In the presented article, we estimated a comparative effect of four β-lactam antibiotics (Claforan^®, timentin, amoxicillin, and Amoxiclav^®) at different concentrations in an agar-solidified Murashige and Skoog (MS) culture medium supplemented with 5 mg L⁻¹ 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) and 0.1 mg L⁻¹ indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on in vitro callus induction and shoot organogenesis from hypocotyl and cotyledon explants of two tomato cultivars (Rekordsmen, Moryana). The role of clavulanic acid in combination with amoxicillin (Amoxiclav^®) in the shoot organogenesis frequency and number of shoots per explant has been demonstrated. Additionally, the growth inhibition of Agrobacterium tumefaciens AGL0 strain according to agar disk-diffusion assay was studied. As a result, both stimulatory (timentin, amoxicillin, and Amoxiclav^®) and inhibitory (Claforan^®) effects of β-lactam antibiotics on in vitro morphogenetic responses of tomato were noted. It was found that clavulanic acid, which is part of the commercial antibiotic Amoxiclav^®, significantly increased the shoot regeneration frequency from cotyledon and hypocotyl explants of Rekordsmen tomato cultivar. Possible reasons for the stimulating effect of clavulanic acid on the induction of shoot organogenesis are discussed. According to agar disk-diffusion assay, the maximum diameter of growth inhibition zones (43.9 mm) was identified using 200 mg L⁻¹ timentin. The in vitro antibacterial activity of tested β-lactam antibiotics was arranged in the following order: timentin > Claforan^® > amoxicillin ≥ Amoxiclav^®. Thus, to suppress the growth of internal and latent bacterial infection of tomato plant tissue culture, as well as for transformation of Moryana and Rekordsmen cultivars by A. tumefaciens strain AGL0, we recommend adding of 100–200 mg L⁻¹ timentin or 400–800 mg L⁻¹ Amoxiclav^® to the shoot induction medium.

The genus Helianthus comprises 52 species and 19 subspecies, with the cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) representing one of the most important oilseed crops in the world, which is also of value for fodder and technical purposes. Currently, the leading direction in sunflower breeding is to produce highly effective heterosis F₁ hybrids with increased resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. The production of inbred parental lines via repeated self-pollination takes 4–8 years, and the creation of a commercial hybrid can take as long as 10 years. However, the use of doubled haploid technology allows for the obtainment of inbred lines in one generation, shortening the time needed for hybrid production. Moreover, it allows for the introgression of the valuable genes present in the wild Helianthus species into cultivated sunflowers. Additionally, this technology makes it possible to manipulate the ploidy level, thereby restoring fertility in interspecific hybridization. This review systematizes and analyzes the knowledge available thus far about the production of haploid and dihaploid Helianthus plants using male (isolated anther and microspore cultures) and female (unpollinated ovaries and ovules culture) gametophytes, as well as by induced parthenogenesis using γ-irradiated pollen and interspecific hybridization. The genetic, physiological, and physical factors influencing the efficiency of haploid plant production are considered. A special section focuses on the approaches used to double a haploid chromosome set and the direct and indirect methods for determining the ploidy level. The current analyzed data on the successful application of haploid sunflower plants in breeding are summarized.

Speed breeding is a method that reduces the generation time of spring cereals to two months. The method has gained significant popularity for addressing challenges in breeding and genetics. It relies on the use of physiological factors that accelerate flowering onset, shorten the generative phase of development, and overcome post-harvest seed dormancy. Currently, the use of speed breeding is not widespread in the Russian Federation due to a lack of regarding its implementation with Russian cereal genotypes. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using speed breeding to accelerate the growth of malting barley and developed our own protocol that initiates heading on the 39th day after sowing. By drying immature spikes and overcoming post-harvest seed dormancy, we were able to begin the growing of the next generation on the 77th day; furthermore, the use of embryo culture enabled us to reduce this time to 60 days. The use of a tool such as speed breeding has allowed us to carry out mass hybridization of plants and the development of pure lines following crosses in a short timeframe. It is also convenient for the introgression of genes of interest and the rapid propagation of valuable barley genotypes.

Surfactants are often added to herbicidal formulations to improve the delivery of the herbicide into plants. In this study a new herbicidal formulation was formed based on the clopyralid with 0.01% gemini surfactant hexanediyl-1,6-bis(dimethylcetylammonium bromide) (16-6-16) as an adjuvant. The increase in the efficiency of the formulation was associated with the formation of a supramolecular surfactant–herbicide complex (SMC), which has improved wetting properties, provides high clopyralid concentration on the leaf surface, and has higher penetrating ability compared to surfactant-free clopyralid solutions. Comparison of the herbicidal action of clopyralid–16-6-16 SMC with two commercial formulations of the same concentration of clopyralid was performed using digital phenotyping of the model weed plant cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium). Based on the spectral indices NDVI (normalized differential vegetation index) and PSRI (plant senescence reflectance index) and key morphological indexes of the leaf angle, plant height, and leaf area, we showed that clopyralid formulations strongly affected the plants and that the strongest and most durable effect was exerted by the clopyralid–16-6-16 SMC formulation.

It typically takes 12 to 15 years to develop a new promising variety. One of the ways to reduce this time is through speed breeding. This method allows for up to six consecutive generations of spring cereals in a single year. Although far-red light is often overlooked in speed breeding protocols, it serves as a potent inducer of accelerated flowering in various plant species. In this study, we explored the advantages of far-red light as a means to optimize the speed breeding of spring triticale. Experimental plants were cultivated under three conditions with different red to far-red ratios at 660 nm (R – red) and 730 nm (FR – far red): 1) 3.75 (R > FR); 2) 0.8 (R = FR) and 3) 0.3 (R < FR). We found that the onset of triticale flowering occurred significantly earlier at the lowest red to far-red light ratio (R/FR 0.3). On average, plants bloomed 2.6 and 4.1 days earlier in a mineral wool and a soil mixture at R/FR 0.3, respectively, than those grown at R/FR 3.75. A negative effect of higher-intensity far-red light on the reproductive system of triticale was observed. Additionally, seeds obtained from plants grown under higher-intensity far-red light showed significantly lower germination energy and capacity. No differences were found in the regenerative capacity of isolated embryos in vitro obtained from plants grown under the different spectral compositions. Our results demonstrate that the accelerated triticale development requires not only the involvement of far-red light, but also a specific red to far-red light ratio close to 0.3. A modified speed breeding protocol relying on this ratio enabled flowering to commence as early as 33.9 ± 1.2 days after sowing. The same triticale variety grown under field conditions in the Krasnodar region and in traditional laboratory growing conditions with a photoperiod of 18/6 h day/night flowered 25 to 29 days later than those cultivated under the speed breeding conditions.