ABSTRACT
Commercialization of microbial biotechnology in horticulture requires development of innovative and creative strategies to better control conditions in the horticultural environment, in a manner which supports plant-host interactions (Ward and Ray, 2006). In addition, biological and molecular approaches may be exploited to adjust or sustain the desired biochemical or physiological characteristics of microbial strain(s) or plant host(s), which promote beneficial microbeplant interactions. Likewise, some of the microbial technology developed for processing horticultural produce frequently leads to disappointing failures at the commercial application stage. Application of microbial biotechnology in horticultural processing should be viewed as implementation of bioprocesses underpinned by good process operating principles with their associated process controls and performance requirements. In this chapter, an outlook of the achievements, constraints and prospects of commercializing microbial biotechnology in horticulture is reviewed.
