Types of Plant Breeding

Breeding among the plants can be of the following types:

Inbreeding

Inbreeding refers to the breeding among closely related individuals.

Backcrossing Breeding

Backcrossing breeding refers to the breeding of a hybrid organism with one of its genetically similar parents. It is done to isolate desired characteristics in a related group of plants.

Mutation Breeding

Mutation breeding refers to the breeding that can be induced artificially induced in plants by exposure to radiation or chemicals. This results in new varieties.

Genetic Engineering Breeding

It involves genetic tools Genetic, recombinant DNA technology to insert desirable traits into plants. The resulting plants are known as transgenic plants or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Somatic Hybridization

A  hybrid produced by the fusion of somatic cells of two varieties or species is called a somatic hybrid and the process of producing somatic hybrids is known as somatic hybridization. It helps in the transfer of desirable characters from wild or unrelated crop species to crop plants.

Plant breeding is made up of two words- plant and breeding. This means there is breeding among two different species of plant of desired varieties.  The desired varieties mean plants should have increased tolerance to environmental stresses (salinity, extreme temperatures, drought, etc.), resistance to pathogens (viruses, fungi, and bacteria), and increased tolerance to insect pests. All these qualities will help in getting better yield and disease-free plants. These all traits altogether, increase the yield of plants and make plant disease free. Plant breeding was first used during the green revolution. Let’s understand the green revolution.