Flax, or linseed, is considered a “superfood”, which means that it is a food with diverse health benefits and potentially useful bioactive ingredients. It is a multi-purpose crop that is prized for its seed oil, fibre, nutraceutical, and probiotic qualities. It is suited to various habitats and agro-ecological conditions. Numerous abiotic and biotic stressors that can either have a direct or indirect impact on plant health are experienced by flax plants as a result of changing environmental circumstances. Research on the impact of various stresses and their possible ameliorators is prompted by such expectations. By inducing the loss of specific alleles and using a limited number of selected varieties, modern breeding techniques have decreased the overall genetic variability required for climate-smart agriculture. However, gene banks have well-managed collectionns of landraces, wild linseed accessions, and auxiliary Linum species that serve as an important source of novel alleles. In the past, flax-breeding techniques were prioritised, preserving high yield with other essential traits. Applications of molecular markers in modern breeding have made it easy to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for various agronomic characteristics. The genetic diversity of linseed species and the evaluation of their tolerance to abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, heavy metal tolerance, and temperature, as well as resistance to biotic stress factors, viz., rust, wilt, powdery mildew, and alternaria blight, despite addressing various morphotypes and the value of linseed as a supplement, are the primary topics of this review.

This study was conducted to assess genetic variability, interrelationship among yield attributing traits and their direct and indirect effect on yield. Ninety-two genotypes including four checks was taken in the study and were planted during two seasons i.e., Rabi 2022-23 and Rabi 2023-24 at Research Farm, Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, RVSKVV, Gwalior. These genotypes were evaluated for analysis of genetic variability, phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation, correlation and path analysis for seed yield and its related traits. Higher estimates of GCV and PCV were observed for traits like seed yield per plant, harvest index, thousand seed weight, numbers of seeds per capsule, numbers of capsules per plant, numbers of secondary and primary branches. Highly significant and positive correlation with seed yield was documented for numbers of capsules per plant (0.82), numbers of secondary branches per plant (0.64) and thousand seed weight (0.31). Path coefficient analysis revealed that numbers of capsules per plant was the major contributor to the seed yield (0.7950) followed by harvest index (0.1762) and biological yield (0.1211).

In present investigation, disease scoring and SSR-based molecular analysis of 92 linseed genotypes was performed against Alternaria blight resistant line (s) identification. Total 20 markers were used for the study out of which only seven markers showed polymorphism between the resistant and non-resistant lines. A total of 24 alleles were identified with an average of 3.4 alleles per locus for polymorphic SSR markers. The Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) values varied between 0.530-0.662 (Lu_899 to LuC_8166563_1) with an average of 0.60. The primer which showed highest PIC values was LuC_8166563_1 while the lowest was observed for the primer Lu_899. The major allele frequency varied between 0.32 (LUSc_270_01, LU_934, LuC_8166563_1) to 0.54 (Lu_899) with a mean value of 0.40. Population structure analysis revealed that 29 genotypes were assigned to group1 (G1), 33 genotypes to G2 and 30 genotypes were assigned to admixture group G3. The relationship between groups derived from STRUCTURE explained that G1 and G2 comprised of distinct types. The present investigation has helped in differentiating the genotype based on their resistance for the disease. Six genotypes viz., LMS-2015-42, LMS-2014-20, IC0498675, IC0498724, IC0498761 and IC0424878 were identified as highly resistant. While genotypes including IC0525920, IC0498538, IC0498768, IC0526514, IC0305053, IC0385383, and IC0499156 were considered as resistance. Twenty-one were found to be moderately resistant to disease while forty-two moderately susceptible and sixteen susceptible.

Flax, or Linum usitatissimum, is a multipurpose crop that may be produced in a variety of climates for use in industry, feed, fibre, and food. It is crucial to characterize and assess an array of genotypes to comprehend the potential of linseed in agriculture. The present investigation focused on agro-morphological characteristics to identify the best germplasm that may be utilized as future donors for linseed breeding. The goal of this study was to find the best germplasm to be used as future donors for linseed breeding by focusing on agro-morphological traits. In the current study, an expanded design was used to test 92 genotypes in total, both alien and native, throughout the course of two seasons, Rabi 2022-23 and Rabi 2023-24. The ninety-two genotypes were found to be organized into seven primary clusters by cluster analysis. Cluster I consist of twenty-four genotypes. Whereas cluster II and cluster III each encompass one genotype i.e., IC394118 and IC0599415 respectively. While cluster IV consists of seventeen genotypes, cluster V contain thirty-one genotypes. Cluster VI consist of seven genotypes. Whereas cluster VII which is the last cluster included eleven genotypes. A broad variation of genetic diversity was found using cluster analysis. The findings of this study open the door for focused breeding initiatives and environmentally friendly farming methods by offering insightful information about the genetic diversity and phenotypic variability of linseed.