Recent advances in molecular biology and genetic engineering have made it possible to increase agricultural yields when compared to conventional methods. However, lots of challenges are to be addressed due to changing climatic conditions. Although genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have proven their potential in a few crops, but needs to be explored in majority of the field/vegetable crops to overcome food and nutritional security in view of alarming population explosion. In spite of advantages from GMO crops due to the presence of foreign DNA, queries regarding their safety, environmental dangers and health effects needs to be addressed. One of the major environmental issues concerning transgenic crops is the mixing of genetic components across species that cannot hybridize naturally. Due to these limitations, new revolutionary technologies have been developed, such as intragenesis and cisgenesis for the transformation and development of superior plants. While cisgenesis entails genetic modification employing a complete copy of natural genes with their native regulatory components that only belong to sexually compatible species, intragenesis refers to the transfer of unique combinations of genes and regulatory sequence inside the same species. In cisgenesis, the donor genes are the same genes employed in conventional breeding. The two benefits of cisgenics are avoiding linkage drag and making greater use of existing gene alleles. This method significantly shortens the time it takes to breed plants by combining conventional methods with cutting-edge biotechnological tools. Because of this, plant genomes can be altered without causing drastic changes to the whole plant population and the environmental effects of cisgenic plants cannot be compared to those of transgenics. Transgenesis and cisgenesis share the same transformation methods; hence, cisgenic, intragenic and transgenic plants produced through random insertion do not pose any distinct risks with regard to host genome modifications. In contrast, using new genome techniques lessens the dangers related to potential unintentional changes to the host DNA. The use of cisgenesis and intragenesis as alternatives to transgenesis has been restricted to a small number of species due to incomplete understanding of the required regulatory sequences.

Seed health testing is a cornerstone of global food security, yet traditional diagnostic workflows often struggle to balance speed, sensitivity, and regulatory confidence under low-prevalence and heterogeneous seed lot conditions. This review synthesizes recent advances in molecular diagnostics (PCR, qPCR, LAMP, and digital PCR), non-destructive imaging technologies (hyperspectral, X-ray, and thermal imaging), and data-driven analytical approaches for pathogen detection in seeds. Emphasis is placed on the practical integration of these tools within high-throughput, ISO/IEC 17025-compliant laboratory workflows, highlighting their respective strengths, limitations, and roles in risk-based decision-making. Comparative discussions address cost, sensitivity, turnaround time, and field deployability across diagnostic platforms, supported by crop- and pathogen-specific examples. Emerging approaches such as CRISPR-based biosensing, advanced sequencing, and imaging-assisted analytics are discussed in the context of validation, regulatory acceptance, and operational feasibility. By focusing on implementation rather than conceptual frameworks, this review provides a pragmatic reference for laboratories, regulators, and seed companies seeking to modernize seed health testing while safeguarding trade integrity and biosecurity.

Seed health testing is undergoing a rapid transformation as emerging technologies supplement and, in some cases, replace conventional diagnostic methods. This review synthesizes recent advances in molecular diagnostics (PCR, qPCR, LAMP, and metabarcoding), non-destructive imaging approaches (hyperspectral, multispectral and X-ray) and AI-assisted pattern recognition for pathogen detection in seeds. Emphasis is placed on integrating these tools into high-throughput seed quality programs, with case studies from vegetable, ornamental and field crop systems. We highlight current limitations in cost, regulatory alignment and global standardization, while identifying future opportunities for rapid, sensitive and field-deployable testing. This review aims to guide researchers, seed technologists and policymakers toward more efficient and reliable seed health assurance strategies.

Seed coat integrity (porosity, colour and thickness) and structure (hilum, strophiole and micropyle) explain, predict and even allow genotypes resistant to pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) and field weathering under certain environmental conditions. This study examined how morphological and biochemical seed coat characteristics and their role in mitigating PHS in 96 soybean genotypes. All traits showed significant genetic variation, with broad-sense heritability ranging from 0.336 to 0.611. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the first two components explained 62.50 % of total variation. Seed coat proportion correlated strongly with peroxidase activity (POD) (r = 0.511) and negatively with and water absorption capacity (WAC) (r = -0.533). Seeds had black (4 genotypes) and yellow (92 genotypes) seed coats and grey (5 genotypes) and brown (91 genotypes) seed hilums. Physical and biochemical characterisation varied in 96 genotypes, including Birsa Soya 1, Kalitur, Pune 14, Pune 30 (lack colour) and MAUS 61-2 (yellow colour) which were found resistant to field weathering due to hard seed coat (HSC) and seed colour. Black and brown testa genotypes are resistant to field weathering because they have the highest percentage proportion of seed coat, seed thickness (ST) and minimum seed coat permeability than yellow genotypes, which have a delicate seed coat, minimum mechanical strength and maximum seed coat permeability. These findings provide useful selection criteria for breeding soybean cultivars with improved resistance to PHS under humid tropical environments.