( Plant Breeding, HISTORY OF PLANT BREEDING, OBJECTIVES, ACHIEVEMENTS, ACTIVITIES, Plant Genetic Resource, Breeding techniques, Seed Technology, YIELD ENHANCEMENT, CROP ADAPTATION, FUTURE PROSPECTS )
PLANT BREEDING | 4 BIG ACHIEVEMENTS OF PLANT BREEDING
Table of Contents
WHAT IS PLANT BREEDING?
- The art and science to change the genetic architecture of crop plants to make it more suitable for human needs.
- “Plant breeding is considered as the current phase of crop evolution” by Simmons
- The Breeder’s task
HISTORY OF PLANT BREEDING :
| Year | Name of scientist | Contribution |
| 1717 | Thomas Fairchild | 1st interspecific hybrid between sweet William and carnation
(Dianthus barbatus x D caryophyllus) |
| 1840 | John Le Couteur & Patric Shirreff | Developed concept of progeny test and individual plant selection in cereals crops |
| 1866 | G J Mendel | Law of inheritance while working of Garden pea |
| 1890 | Rimpu | An intergeneric cross between wheat and rye
(Triticum aestivum x Secale cereal) |
| 1903 | Johannsen | Developed the concept of pure line, genotype and phenotype |
| 1908 | Hardy & Weinberg | Hardy-Weinberg law |
| 1908 | Devenport | Dominance hypothesis of Heterosis |
| 1914 | Shull | First used the term heterosis for hybrid vigour |
| 1919 | Hays and Garber | The idea of recurrent selection
Synthetic variety for commercial cultivation of maize |
ACTIVITIES OF PLANT BREEDING :
To assemble within populations combinations of alleles of many genetic loci that leads to superior multilocus genotypes, followed by superior phenotypes in the environment, have the potential for a new variety.
- Germplasm/plant genetic resource
- Breeding techniques
- General Breeding Methods
- Special Breeding Methods
C. Seed Production Technology
1. Germplasm/Plant Genetic Resource :
- Total variability found in plant species.
- Deals with both Cultivated and wild species.
- Major steps:
- Collection
- Conservation
- Evaluation
- Documentation
- Utilizations
2. Breeding techniques
- Deals with various principles and procedures of crop improvement
- Various breeding methods, their merits and demerits are covered
- Specific objective-oriented activities like breeding for disease resistance, insect resistance, drought resistance, multiple cropping systems etc.
- General Breeding methods: includes an introduction, selection, hybridization (inter-varietal)
- Special Breeding Methods: Mutation breeding, polyploidy breeding, wide crossing, special techniques namely tissue culture & genetic engineering etc.
3. Seed Production Technology:-
- Dissemination of technology/variety developed to a farmers field
- Deals with principles and methods of improved seed production
- Different classes of seed:
- Nucleus Seed
- Breeder Seed
- Foundation Seed
- Certified Seed
OBJECTIVES OF PLANT BREEDING :
- The prime objective is to develop superior plants over existing ones in relation to economic use.
- The objective differs from crop to crop and ecological situations as well.
- Some common objectives are as …
| 01. | Higher yield | Economic plant part eg. Grain, fodder, tuber, fibre, cane, oil etc |
| 02. | Improved quality | A major factor for deciding the market price
|
| 03. | Biotic stress | Major disease and insects |
| 04. | Abiotic stress | Drought, flood, salinity, acidity |
| 05. | Earliness |
|
| 06. | Photo and thermo-insensitivity | Cultivation of crop regardless of light and temperature cycle. |
| 07. |
Synchronous maturity: |
|
| 08. |
Desirable agronomical traits |
|
| 09. |
Removal of toxic compounds |
|
ACHIEVEMENTS OF PLANT BREEDING :
- Yield enhancement
- Enhancement of compositional traits
- Crop Adaption
- Green Revolution
YIELD ENHANCEMENT :
- Can be achieved through targeting yield per se or its components (tillers, LAI, Photosynthesis, HI etc) or making plants resistant to insect pests.
- Introduction of dwarfing genes in rice & wheat
- Development of hybrids – rice, maize, sorghum, pigeon pea etc.
- Discovery of male sterility system
- Plant type (Ideotype)
- Nobalization of sugarcane
- Disease resistant varieties
- Insect resistant varieties
EMHANCEMENT OF COMPOSIONAL TRAITS :
- Maize – QPM (shakti, rattan, protina)
- Low erucic acid and low glucosinolate varieties in Brassica
- High suger content (sugarcane, sugerbeet)
- Higher shelf life of fruits (eg tomato)
- Golden rice (high vitamin A content)
CROP ADAPTATION :
- Introduction of new cultivars eg oil palm in southern states.
- Introduction newer crops eg Rice in Punjab; wheat in west Bengal
- Maturity duration reduced in many crops
Cotton – from 270 to 170 days
Pigeon pea – from 270 to 120 days
sugarcane – from 360 to 280 days
- Stress tolerant varieties identified for drought, salinity etc
GREEN REVOLUTION :
- Term: William Gaud
- Green revolution refers to vary substantial yield increase from the development of new crop varieties under the intensive programme of fertilizer, water and pesticide management.
- Crop improvement (50%) + Agronomical management (50%) = Green revolution.
FUTURE PROSPECTS :
- Crop improvement is the current phase of crop evolution & evolution is a never-ending process.
- Plant breeding has played an outstanding role in cereal (rice, wheat, maize) improvement.
- Now focus has to be given to pulses, oilseeds, small millets.
- Development of crop varieties resistant to biotic and abiotic factors.
