Topic Object and importance of the science of General plant breeding and seed production

Solved Questions for You

Q1. In the area of plant breeding, it is important not only to preserve the seeds of the variety being cultivated but also to preserve all its wild relatives. Explain with a suitable example.

Ans. Preservation of the seeds of the cultivated variety and its wild varieties helps in making a good germplasm collection. Many high yielding and disease-resistant varieties of wheat, rice, and maize have been produced by selective breeding of plants. This could be possible because of a better germplasm collection.

Q2. Name a man-made cereal? Trace how it was developed and where is it used?

Ans. Triticale is the first man-made cereal. Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye. It was first bred in a laboratory in the late nineteenth century in Scotland and Sweden. It combines the yield potential and grain quality of wheat and resistance qualities of rye and mainly used as fodder.

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Topic 1. Plant breeding.

Technical Definition

Plant breeding is the science driven creative process of developing new plant varieties that goes by various names including cultivar development, crop improvement, and seed improvement. Breeding involves the creation of multi-generation genetically diverse populations on which human selection is practiced to create adapted plants with new combinations of specific desirable traits. The selection process is driven by biological assessment in relevant target environments and knowledge of genes and genomes.   Progress is assessed based on gain under selection, which is a function of genetic variation, selection intensity, and time.

Other Published Definitions

"Plant Breeding is the art and science of the genetic improvement of plants." - Fehr, Principles of Cultivar Development: Theory and Technique, 1987

"Plant Breeding is the art and science of changing the traits of plants in order to product desired characteristics." - Sleper and Poehlman, Breeding Field Crops, 1995

"Plant Breeding is the genetic improvement of plants for human benefit." - Bernardo, Breeding for Quantitative Traits in Plants, 2010

NAPB Video Competition winning videos on the role that plant breeders have in shaping plants to fit society's needs can be found here (video by Derek Hargrove - winner) and h