Despite the recent advances made in the improvement of crucifer crops using conventional breeding techniques, the yield levels and the oil and meal quality could not be improved as expected. The understanding of genetic material (DNA/RNA) and its manipulation by scientists has provided the opportunity to improve crucifers by increasing its diversity beyond conventional genetic limitations. The application of the biotechnological techniques will have major impacts in two ways: first, it provides a number of techniques/methods for efficient selection for favorable variants and second, it gives an opportunity to utilize alien variation available in the crucifers by using the novel techniques of biotechnology to develop high yielding varieties with good nutritional quality, having resistance to insect, pest, and disease resistance.

Prof. Dr. Surinder Kumar Gupta is Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics and Chief Scientist and Nodal Officer of Biotechnology at the S. K. University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Jammu, INDIA. His academic and professional career have been primarily devoted to research on oilseed Brassicas for nearly two decades. He obtained his post-graduate degree of M. Sc. and Ph. D. from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana in 1984 and 1987, respectively. He is a recipient of Post Doctoral Fellowship in Plant Biotechnology. For his superior scientific work, he has also been conferred with Young Scientist Award in 1993-94 by the State Department of Science and Technology. Prof. Dr. Gupta has published more than 75 research papers in esteemed National and International journals mostly on Brassicas and edited seven books, including two in press for Springer Science+Business Media.