Agriculture still holds the primary economic sector of many countries. This whole process of agriculture includes a technique that is plant breeding. There is immense significance of plant breeding in the process of agriculture. This article deals with the significance of plant breeding and what is the role of plant breeding in agriculture.
History of Plant Breeding
To understand the significance of plant breeding we need to first understand what this means and its history. The process of plant breeding is changing the genetic traits of a particular variety of plants. The practice of age-old agriculture uses this process to save a particular quality of seed to grow better crops in the next harvest.
Gregor Mendel who is known as the father of Genetics discovered the law of segregation in the middle of the 1800s. This theory is at the base of the process of plant breeding. The primitive ways used for plant breeding are very different than what modern technology has contributed to the process of plant breeding during the twentieth century.
Importance of Plant Breeding
There is a certain significance of plant breeding. Especially after the Green revolution, new technologies for yielding crops were discovered. The process of plant breeding was also advanced. Plant breeding is done to improve the quality traits of the plant. Plant breeding is mainly done to create resistance in the plant towards extreme climatic conditions like extreme heat, floods, or drought.
This is also done to improve the quality of the seeds which would in turn positively affect people all over the world. To think globally, the main significance of plant breeding is to meet the increasing demands of the increasing population from all over the world.
The Process of Plant Breeding
The process of plant breeding is a process of patience which includes several procedures, they are:
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Collection of the desired varieties:
There are numerous types of varieties of plants. To make the process of plant breeding successful, all the high-yielding plants get the best out of it. This process of collecting different alleles for all the genes in the population of specific species of plant is called Germplasm.
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Selection and evaluation of the parent:
The high-yielding varieties are to be chosen. The choosing of the parent seeds is to be done in such a way that it results in a pure line. The progenies from self-pollinating homozygous plants are called pure lines.
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Hybridization of the parent:
The two parent high-yielding varieties are to be combined or bred. The progeny that develops as an outcome of this fusion is called a hybrid. The pollen grains from the anther of one high yielding male plant are placed on the stigma of another high yielding female plant.
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The high yielding combinations are to be selected and tested:
The hybrids thus produced, not all of them can be desirable. All the hybrids thus produced do not fulfill the criteria needed to produce a high-yielding plant. The most suitable hybrid is selected and tested.
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The hybrid is tested and released:
The hybrids that are tested and selected fit are grown in research fields with all the necessary conditions needed to grow crops. There is a proper use of fertilization, irrigation, and other necessary steps. This testing is done at least for three growing seasons. If the hybrids get approved, the high-yielding seeds are stored and released during the suitable agricultural seasons.
Plant Breeding in Agriculture
There is immense importance of plant breeding in agriculture. The practice of plant breeding in agriculture is prevalent for a long time. There are numerous reasons for the practice of plant breeding, they are:
- The main aim of plant breeding is to produce high-yielding plants. This production of high-yielding plants means the production of plants that are tolerant to extreme climatic conditions like a flood, drought, etc. The plant is produced in a way that it is resistant to harmful bacteria and viruses.
- Plant breeding is also done for another important reason and that is to increase water use efficiency.
- The high-yielding plant is produced so that it increases the nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen) use efficiently.
- The hybrid plant has to survive in the weed competition in the market.
- The hybrid plant has to be tolerant to mechanical weed controls.
- The hybrid has to be tolerant to early maturity; this is done to avoid particular stresses on the plant.
Conclusion
I hope, by now, to know what is the significance of plant breeding, where it comes from and when the practice of such a technique started. There are also highlights on the process of plant breeding and the importance of plant breeding in agriculture. Since there are many countries, whose main occupation is agriculture, they try to get the best out of their occupation to earn their living. Any harm to the plant is their loss of livelihood. These methods have been embraced by the farmers for a long time to affect their agriculture and the people globally in a positive way. This process of plant breeding can be considered a major contribution to the agricultural industry from the field of genetics or molecular biology. This technology has impacted on a large scale throughout the world, positively.