Question

What are the various factors for which varietal, improvement is done? Explain.

Answer 1

The factors for which varietal improvement is done are :
(i) To get higher yield : To increase the productivity of the crop per acre.
(ii) To get improved quality : Quality considerations of crop products vary from crop to crop. Baking quality is important in wheat, protein quality in pulses, oil quality in oilseeds and preserving quality in fruits and vegetables.
(iii) To get biotic and abiotic resistance : Crop production can go down due to biotic (diseases, insects and pests) and abiotic (drought, salinity, water logging, heat, cold and frost) stresses under different situations. Varieties resistant to these stresses can improve crop production.
(iv) To get early and uniform crop maturity : The shorter the duration of the crop from sowing to harvesting, the more economical is the variety. Such short duration allows farmers to grow multiple rounds of crops in a year. Short duration also reduces the cost of crop production. Uniform maturity makes the harvesting process easy and reduces losses during harvesting.
(v) To get wider adaptability : Developing varieties for wider adaptability will help in stabilizing the crop production under different environmental conditions. One variety can then be grown under different climatic conditions in different areas.
(vi) To get desirable agronomic characteristics : Tallness and profuse branching are desirable characters for fodder crops. Dwarfness is desired in cereals, so that less nutrients are consumed by these crops. Thus developing varieties of desired agronomic characters help in giving higher productivity.