Bandwagons I, too, have known

Area of Science:

• Plant breeding and genetics
• Agricultural science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• The concept of
• bandwagons
• in scientific research, particularly in plant breeding, was previously discussed by N. W. Simmonds in 1991.
• These trends represent fashionable ideas or technologies that gain popularity over time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and analyze significant
• bandwagons
• in plant improvement since 1990.
• To understand the lifecycle and characteristics of these popular trends in agricultural research.

Main Methods:

• Review of post-1990 trends in plant improvement.
• Analysis of the lifecycle of scientific bandwagons.
• Discussion of factors influencing the popularity and adoption of new technologies.

Main Results:

• Key post-1990 bandwagons include transgenic cultivars, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, association mapping, genomewide selection, phenomics, envirotyping, and genome editing.
• Bandwagons progress through excitement, realization, and reality phases.
• Popular bandwagons are accessible, learnable, and yield reportable outputs.

Conclusions:

• Plant breeders must be discerning in adopting new technologies, similar to a surfer choosing the right wave.
• Continuous evaluation is necessary to distinguish useful innovations from fleeting trends.
• The adoption of new technologies should be guided by their practical utility and scientific merit.