Plant Breeding: Definition, Experiments, Aims, varieties and steps in Plant breeding
Definition
Plant breeding is the practice of modifying a plant’s genetic composition to achieve desired traits. Genetic engineering, cross-breeding, and selective breeding are used to accomplish this. Plant breeders work to create plants with desirable characteristics, such as increased nutritional value, disease resistance, drought tolerance, or higher production.
The practice of choosing and mating plants with favoured qualities to create offspring with enhanced traits is known as Plant breeding. Examples of common selection criteria are choosing plants with higher yields, enhanced disease resistance, improved flavour, or increased drought tolerance. Since ancient times, plant breeding techniques have been employed to create crop and decorative plant types with the desired features.
Plant breeding experiments
In plant breeding experiments, several parental plant combinations are tested, crossed, and the resulting offspring are assessed for the desired qualities.
Aims of Plant breeding
Plant breeding is primarily used to increase crop quality and output, develop disease resistance, lower production costs, and create plant types that are more tolerant of environmental changes, among other things.
Plant breeding can also be utilised to create new plant varieties with desirable characteristics.
Five hybrid crop plant cultivars have been produced in India.
1. Pusa Basmati-1 (rice)
2. Pusa Basmati-1509 (rice)
3. Pusa Hybrid-4 (wheat)
4. JK Hybrid-1 (cotton)
5. Pusa Hybrid-12 (maize)
Steps in plant breeding
1. Selection: Choosing desirable qualities from variations already in existence.
2. Isolation: Separating the plants from other types to maintain the desired features’ purity.
3. Crossing: Creating a new variety by mating two types that have compatible features.
4. Evaluation: cultivating the novel variety and assessing its qualities.
5. Selection: Picking out the plants with the ideal traits.
6. Release: Making the new variety available for distribution and commercial sale.