Plant breeding

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The Yecoro wheat (right) cultivar is sensitive to salinity, plants resulting from a hybrid cross with cultivar W4910
(left) show greater tolerance to high salinity

Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired
characteristics.[1] It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and
animals.[2] Plant breeding can be accomplished through many different techniques ranging from
simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to methods that make use of
knowledge of genetics and chromosomes, to more complex molecular techniques
(see cultigen and cultivar). Genes in a plant are what determine what type of qualitative or
quantitative traits it will have. Plant breeders strive to create a specific outcome of plants and
potentially new plant varieties.[2]
Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years, since near the beginning of human
civilization. It is practiced worldwide by individuals such as gardeners and farmers, and by
professional plant breeders employed by organizations such as government institutions, universities,
crop-specific industry associations or research centers.
International development agencies believe that breeding new crops is important for ensuring food
security by developing new varieties that are higher yielding, disease resistant, drought tolerant or
regionally adapted to different environments and growing conditions.

Contents
[hide]

 1History
 2Classical plant breeding
o 2.1Before World War II
o 2.2After World War II
 3Modern plant breeding
o 3.1Marker assisted selection
o 3.2Reverse breeding and doubled haploids (DH)
o 3.3Genetic modification
 4Issues and concerns
 5Role of plant breeding in organic agriculture
 6Addressing global food security through plant breeding
o 6.1Increased yield without expansion
o 6.2Breeding for increased nutritional value
o 6.3Breeding for tolerance
 7Participatory plant breeding
 8List of notable plant breeders
 9Terms related to plant breeding
 10See also
 11References
o 11.1General
 12External links

History[edit]
Main article: History of plant breeding
Plant breeding started with sedentary agriculture and particularly the domestication of the
first agricultural plants, a practice which is estimated to date back 9,000 to 11,000 years.[3] Initially
early farmers simply selected food plants with particular desirable characteristics, and employed
these as progenitors for subsequent generations, resulting in an accumulation of valuable traits over
time.
Gregor Mendel's experiments with plant hybridization led to his establishing laws of inheritance.
Once this work became well known, it formed the basis of the new science of genetics, which
stimulated research by many plant scientists dedicated to improving crop production through plant
breeding.
Modern plant breeding is applied genetics, but its scientific basis is broader, covering molecular
biology, cytology, systematics, physiology, pathology, entomology, chemistry,
and statistics (biometrics). It has also developed its own technology.