Vol. 10, Special Issue 1, Part F (2026)

Fruit crop production has undergone substantial transformation due to the integration of modern biotechnology and precision farming approaches. With the global population projected to reach nearly ten billion by 2050, ensuring food and nutritional security has become a major challenge. Fruit crops play a crucial role in human nutrition and economic development as important sources of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and income. Advanced biotechnological tools such as micropropagation, tissue culture, pollen culture, somaclonal variation, marker-assisted selection, genetic transformation, molecular markers, and genome editing technologies have significantly improved the efficiency of fruit crop improvement programmes. These techniques enable rapid multiplication of disease-free planting material, early and accurate selection of desirable traits, enhancement of genetic variability, and development of cultivars with improved yield, quality, stress tolerance, and shelf life, particularly in perennial fruit crops with long juvenile phases. Alongside biotechnology, precision farming has emerged as a knowledge-driven and technology-intensive system aimed at optimizing resource use and enhancing sustainability. The integration of GPS, GIS, remote sensing, computing systems, and data analytics allows site-specific management of water, nutrients, and agrochemicals, leading to improved productivity and environmental protection. Despite proven benefits, adoption of precision farming in India remains limited due to socio-economic constraints, small landholdings, lack of awareness, infrastructure gaps, and shortage of skilled manpower. Overall, the synergistic application of biotechnology and precision agriculture offers a holistic pathway for sustainable fruit production, improved orchard efficiency, and long-term food security.