Question

What is plant breeding? Describe the breeding of crop plant for disease resistance and high yielding.

Answer 1

Plant breeding is a method of altering the genetic pattern of plants to increase their value and utility for human welfare. It is a purposeful manipulation of plants to create desired plant types that are better suited for cultivation, give better yield and are disease resistant.

The basic objective of breeding for disease resistance is to develop inherent quality in the plant to prevent the pathogen from causing the disease. Such varieties of plants are called resistant plants. The basic method is the same as normal hybridization. For hybridization resistant plant should be available for breeding.

Plants are crossbred to introduce traits/genes from one variety or line into a new genetic background. For example, a mildew-resistant pea may be crossed with a high-yielding but susceptible pea, the goal of the cross being to introduce mildew resistance without losing the high-yield characteristics. Progeny from the cross would then be crossed with the high-yielding parent to ensure that the progeny were most like the high-yielding parent, (backcrossing). The progeny from that cross would then be tested for yield and mildew resistance and high-yielding resistant plants would be further developed.