FROM CLASSICAL TO MODERN BREEDING: “ALL-IN” ON DIPLOTAXIS TENUIFOLIA

Rocket is a leafy crop belonging to the Brassicaceae family whose cultivation is particularly appreciated for fresh consumption thanks to the bitter flavor and strong aroma of its leaves. The most cultivated rocket species is Diplotaxis tenuifolia, which is mostly cultivated in Italy enough to be one of the major exported vegetables in Europe. Rocket suffers from two main undesired agronomic traits: early flowering during summer and susceptibility to pathogens such as Fusarium spp. that affect productivity. New D. tenuifolia varieties with higher yield and resilient to pathogens can be obtained using different breeding techniques such as mutation breeding and/or gene editing