Agritech 312 AGRITECH 312 – Crop Improvement and

MODULE Seed Technology

Chapter 6 – Overview of Plant Breeding

Overview
Plant breeding is an art and science, which tells us ways and means to change the
genetic architecture of plants so as to attain a particular objective. Plant breeding can be
accomplished through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with
desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular techniques.
Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years, since near the beginning
of human civilization. It is now practiced worldwide by individuals such as gardeners and
farmers, or 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, resistant to pests
and diseases, drought-resistant or regionally adapted to different environments and growing
conditions.

Learning Outcomes
After finishing this module, you are expected to have a knowledge, understanding,
familiarization and analyzation on plant breeding, scope and objectives of plant breeding,
methods of plant breeding and the steps in making hybrid varieties.
Specifically, at the end of the module, you should be able to:
1. Define and discuss the plant breeding;
2. Identify and familiarize with the scope and objectives of plant breeding;
3. Identify and analyze the methods of plant breeding; and
4. Identify and familiarize with the steps in making hybrid varieties.

Learning Content
 Scope and objectives of Plant Breeding
 Methods of Plant Breeding
 Making of Hybrid Varieties – Steps in making hybrid varieties

Topic 1. Plant Breeding – Definition, Scope and Objectives

Plant Breeding
 It is an activity that deals to manipulate plant’s genetic make up to make it suitable to
the need of mankind. Plant breeding is defined as identifying and selecting desirable
traits in plants and combining these into one individual plant.
 It is the application of genetic principles to produce plants that are more useful to
humans. This is accomplished by selecting plants found to be economically or
 aesthetically desirable, first by controlling the mating of selected individuals, and then
by selecting certain individuals among the progeny.
 Plant breeding uses principles from a variety of sciences to improve the genetic
potential of plants. The process involves combining parental plants to obtain the next
generation with the best characteristics. Breeders improve plants by selecting those
with the greatest potential based on performance data, pedigree, and more
sophisticated genetic information. Plants are improved for food, feed, fiber, fuel,
shelter, landscaping, eco-systems services and a variety of other human activities.
 Plant breeding is the science driven creative process of developing new plant
varieties that goes by various names including cultivar development, crop
improvement, and seed improvement. Breeding involves the creation of multi-
generation genetically diverse populations on which human selection is practiced to
create adapted plants with new combinations of specific desirable traits. The
selection process is driven by biological assessment in relevant target environments
and knowledge of genes and genomes.   Progress is assessed based on gain under
selection, which is a function of genetic variation, selection intensity, and time.

Objectives of Plant Breeding

1. Increased yield Majority of the breeding programmes aims at increased yield
 This is achieved by developing more efficient genotypes.
 The classical examples are utilization of Dee Gee Woo Gen in rice and Norin10
in wheat.
 Identification and utilization of male sterility.
2. Improving the Quality
 Rice -milling, cooking quality, aroma and grain colour
o wheat- milling and baking quality and gluten content.
o pulses -Protein content and improving sulphur containing amino acids.
o oilseeds- PUFA content.
3. Elimination of Toxic Substance
 HCN content in jowar plants
 Erucic acid in Brassicas
 Cucurbitacin in cucurbits
4. Resistance against Biotic and Abiotic Stresses
a) Biotic stress: evolving pests and diseases resistant varieties thereby reducing
cost of cultivation, environmental pollution and saving beneficial insects.
b) Abiotic stress: It is location specific problem. Soil factors and edaphic factors
sometimes possess severe problems. Breeding resistant varieties is the easiest
way to combat abiotic stress.
5. Change in Maturity Duration. Evolution of early maturing varieties
6. Improved Agronomic characteristics. Production of more tillers.
7. Reducing the plant height to prevent lodging – rice.
8. Photoinsensitivity
9. Non-Shattering nature
10. Synchronized maturity
11. Determination Growth habit
12. Elimination or introduction of dormancy
Scope of Plant Breeding
Since the cultivable land is shrinking and there is no scope for increasing the area
under cultivation, the only solution to meet the food requirement is by increasing the crop
yield through genetic improvement of crop plants. There are two ways by which yield
improvement is possible.
1. Enhancing the Productivity of Crops
This can be done:
 By the proper management of soil and crops involving suitable agronomic
practices and harvesting physical resources.
 By using high potential crop varieties created by appropriate genetic
manipulation of crop plants.
2. Stabilizing the Productivity Achieved
 This is done by using crop varieties that are bred especially for wide
adaptation or for specific crop zones to offset the ill effects of unfavorable
environmental conditions prevailing in the areas

Topic 2. Methods of Plant Breeding

Plant Introduction
 Plant introduction is a process of introducing plants from their own environment to a
new environment.
 Plant introduction is taking a genotype or group of genotypes in to a new place or
environment where they were not grown previously. Thus, introduction may involve
new varieties of a crop already grown in that area, a wild relative of the crop species
for that area.
 The process of introduction may involve new varieties of crop or the wild relatives of
crop species or totally a new crop species for the area.

Two types of Plant Introduction:

1. Primary Introduction. When the introduced crop or variety is well suited to the new
environment then it is directly grown or commercially cultivated without any alteration
in the original genotype.
2. Secondary Introduction. When the introduced variety may be subjected to selection
to isolate a superior variety or it may be used in hybridization programme to transfer
some useful traits.
a. Propagule – the plant part used in the propagation of a species.
b. Quarantine – keeping materials in isolation to prevent spreading of diseases,
etc.
c. Acclimatization – the adaptation of an individual to a changed climate or the
adjustment of a species or a population to a changed environment over a
number of generations.
d. Adaptation – the process by which individuals, populations, or species changed
in form or function in such way that they may survived under given
environmental conditions.
e. Domestication – the process of bringing wild species under human
management.
 f. Selection Intensity – the proportion of the plants selected to grow in the next
generation.

Objectives of Plant Introduction

 To introduce new plant species thereby creating ways to build up new industries.
(e.g. Oil palm)
 To introduce high yielding varieties to increase food production (e.g. rice and wheat)
 To enrich the germplasm collection (e.g. sorghum, groundnut)
 To get new sources of resistance against both biotic and abiotic stresses.

Procedure of Plant Introduction

Plant introduction procedure consists of the following steps:
1. Plant Procurement or Procurement of Germplasm. Requisition for introduction of new
crop plant or new varieties should be submitted to NBPGR (National Bureau of Plant
Genetic Resources) within the country or to IBPGR (International Bureau of Plant
Genetic Resources). The material may be obtained on an exchange basis from
friendly countries either directly or through FAO or the material can also be
purchased or obtained as free gift from individuals or organizations.
2. Packaging and Despatch. The part of the plant for propagation of that species is
known as propagule. The propagule may be seeds, tubers, runners, suckers, stolons,
bulbs, root cuttings, buds or seedlings depending upon the crop species. Depending
on the type of propagule those are cleaned from other weed-seeds and contaminants
and treated with fungicides, packed carefully and despatched so that it can reach the
destination in viable condition.
3. Entry and Plant Quarantine. On receipt of the material, the entry inspection is done
by the country for other contaminants and the presence of insect, diseases,
nematodes are checked. The materials are treated with insecticides, fungicides or
nematicides and then released to the user. The general objective of all “quarantine
and regulatory” measures is to prevent pests and diseases from entering into the
country as well as to check spreading further.
4. Cataloguing. After quarantine, the introduced specimen is given a number regarding
species, variety, place of origin and the data are recorded.
The plant materials are classified into three groups: (1) Exotic selection – prefix “EC”,
(2) Indigenous collection – designated as “TC” and (3) Indigenous wild collection –
marked as “TW”.
5. Evaluation. To assess the potential of new introductions, their performance at
different substations are evaluated as well as resistance to diseases and pests under
different environments.
6. Multiplication and Distribution. Promising introduced materials are propagated and
then released as varieties after necessary trials.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Plant Introduction

Advantages Disadvantages
 It provides entirely new crop  The weeds like Argemone,
plants to a place. Eichhornia, Lantana have
 Superior varieties may be been introduced from other
originated directly or after countries with the introduction
selection or hybridization. of crop plants.
  Germplasm collection,  The fungal diseases like late
maintenance and protection blight of potato, flat smut of
of genetic variability are wheat, coffee rust, bunchy top
possible through the ways of banana – all have been
of introduction and introduced in India along with
exploration. plant materials.
 It is the most quick and  Many insect pests like potato
economical method of crop tuber moth, woolly aphis of
improvement when intro- apple, fluted scale of Citrus
duced material can be used were introduced in India along
directly. with plant introduction.
 Introduction of some  However, in most of the
varieties to newer areas cases, the introduction of
may protect them from weeds, diseases and insect
some diseases. pests occurred during a
period when quarantine was
almost non-existent.

Topic 3. Selection
Selection
 It is any process, natural or artificial, that permits a change in the proportion of certain
genotypes or groups of genotypes in succeeding generation b selection.
 It is a plant line, strain that originated by selection process.
 It is a major and most practiced activity in plant breeding that leads to identification.

Different Selection Methods

1) Pure-line Selection.
 Pure-line Selection – plants of a given population which show desired traits can be
selected and used for further breeding and cultivation.

Pure-line selection generally involves three more or less distinct steps:

 Numerous superior appearing plants are selected from a genetically variable
population;
 Progenies of the individual plant selections are grown and evaluated by simple
observation, frequently over a period a several years; and
 When selection can no longer be made on the basis of observation alone, extensive
trials are undertaken, involving careful measurements to determine whether the
remaining selections are superior in yielding ability and other aspects performance.

In this method, any progeny superior to an existing variety is then released as a new
“pure-line” variety. Much of the success of this method during the early 1900s depended on
the existence of genetically variable land varieties that were waiting to be exploited. They
provided a rich source of superior pure-line varieties, some of which are still represented
among commercial varieties. In recent years, the pure-line method as outlined above has
decrease in importance in the breeding of major cultivated species; however, the method is
still widely used with the less important species that have not yet been heavily selected.

A variation of the pure-line selection method that dates back centuries is the
selection of single-chance variants, mutations or “sports” in the original variety. A very large
number of varieties that differ from the original strain in characteristics such as color, lack of
thorns or barbs, dwarfness and disease resistance have originated in this fashion.
A pure-line is the progeny of a single, homozygous, self-pollinated plant. As a result,
all the individuals within a pureline have identified genotype and any variation present within
a pureline is solely due to environment.

Characteristics of a Purelines
 All plants within a pureline have the same genotype as the plant from which the
pureline was derived. This is because the parent was homozygous and self-fertilized.
 The variation present within a pureline is environmental and non-heritable. Therefore,
selection within a pureline will generally be ineffective.
 Purelines become genetically variable with time. The genetic variation is produced by
mechanical mixture (which can be prevented by careful handling) natural
hybridization or mutation.

Uses of Purelines
 As a variety. Superior pureline may be used as commercial variety. Almost all the
present varieties of self-pollinated crops are pureline.
 As parents for hybridization programme. Pureline that can be used as variety may
sevres as parent for hybridization in the development of new varieties.

Application of pureline selection:

 Improvement of local varieties.
 Pureline selection in introduce variety.
 Improvement of old pureline variety.
 Selection of a new characteristics in a pureline.
 Selection in a segregating generations from crosses.

2) Mass Selection.
 Mass selection – seeds are collected from (usually a few dozen to a few hundred)
desirable appearing individuals in a population, and the next generation is sown from
the stock of mixed seed.
 This procedure, sometimes referred to as “phenotypic selection”, is based on how
each individual looks. Mass selection has been used widely to improved “land”
varieties that have been passed down from one generation of farmers to the next
over long periods.

An alternative approach that has no doubt been practiced for thousands of years is
simply to eliminate undesirable types by destroying them in the field. The results are similar
whether superior plants are saved or inferior plants are eliminated: seeds of the better plants
become the planting stock for the next season.
 A modern refine of mass selection is to harvest the best plants separately and to
grow and compare their progenies. The poorer progenies are destroyed and the seeds of the
remainder are harvested. It should be noted that selection is now based not solely on the
appearance of the parent plants but also on the appearance and performance of their
progeny. Progeny selection is usually more effective than phenotypic selection when dealing
with quantitative characters of low heritability. It should be noted, however, that progeny
testing requires an extra generation; hence again per cycle of selection must be double that
of simple phenotypic selection to achieve the same rate of gain per unit time.

Mass selection, with or without progeny test, is perhaps the simplest and least
expensive of plant breeding procedures. It finds wide use in the breeding of certain forage
species, which are not important enough economically to justify more detailed attention.
As a breeding method, mass selection has only a limited application for the
improvement of self-pollinated crops.

Application of Mass Selection

 Improvement of local variety of self-pollinated crops which has deteriorated due to
presence of mixtures. Elimination of poor plant type would improve the performance
and uniformity of the variety.
 Purification of the existing pureline varieties. Maintaining the purity of existing
pureline varieties through regular mass selection. At present, mass selection is used
precisely for maintaining purity of pureline and the nucleus seed of pureline varieties
is produced through mass selection.

3) Pedigree Selection.
 Pedigree Selection – starts with the crossing of two genotypes, each of which have
one or more desirable characters lacked by other. If the two original parents do not
provide all of the desired characters, a third parent can be included by crossing it in
one the hybrid progeny of the first generation (F1).
 In the pedigree method superior types are selected in successive generations, and a
record of parent-progeny relationships is maintained.

The F2 generation (progeny of crossing two F1 individuals) affords the first opportunity
for selection in pedigree programs. In this generation the emphasis is on the elimination of
individuals carrying undesirable major genes. In the succeeding generations the hybrid
condition gives way to pure breeding as a result of natural self-pollination, and families
derived from different F2 plants begin to display their unique character.
The pedigree record is useful in making these eliminations. At this stage each
selected family is usually harvested in mass to obtain the larger amounts of seed needed to
evaluate families for quantitative characters. This evaluation is usually carried out in plots
grown under conditions that stimulate commercial planting practice closely as possible.

Application of Pedigree Method:

 For selecting segregating generations of crosses in self-pollinated crops.
 Selection of new superior recombinant types.

4) Bulk Selection.
  Bulk selection – this differs from the pedigree method primarily in the handling of
generations following hybridization. The F2 generation is sown at normal commercial
planting rates in a large plot.
 At maturity, the crop is harvested in mass, and the seeds are used to establish the
next generation in a similar plot. No record of ancestry is kept. During the period of
bulk propagation, natural selection tends to eliminate having poor survival value.
The essential difference between the bulk and pedigree methods lies in the manner
in which segregating generation is handled. In pedigree, individual plant progenies are
grown and evaluated in F3 and subsequent generation while in bulk that generation is grown
in bulk.

Single plant selections are then made and evaluated in the same way as in the
pedigree method of breeding. The chief advantage of the bulk population method is that it
allows the breeder to handle very large numbers of individuals inexpensively.

Two types of artificial selection also are often applied:

 Destruction of plants that carry undesirable major genes and
 Mass techniques such as harvesting when only part of the seeds are mature to select
for early maturing plants or the use of screens to select for increased seed size.

Applications.
 Isolation of homozygous lines.

5) Backcross Method.
 Backcross method – often an outstanding variety can be improved by transferring to
it some specific desirable character that it lacks.
 This can be accomplished by first crossing a plant of the superior variety to a plant of
the domor variety, which carries the trait in question, and then mating the progeny
back to a plant having the genotype of the superior parent. This process is called
backcrossing.
 Genetic advance – improvement in the performance as selected lines over the
original population

Topic 4. Making of Hybrid Varieties

The outstanding example of the exploitation of hybrid vigor through the use of F 1 has
been done with corn. The development of hybrid varieties differs from hybridization. The F 1
hybrid of crosses between different genotypes is often much more vigorous than its parents.
This hybrid vigor or heterosis, can be manifested in many ways, including increased
rate of growth, greater uniformity, earlier flowering, and increased yield, the last being of
greatest importance in agriculture.

The production of a hybrid corn variety involves three steps:

1. The selection of superior plants. This is guided by the combining ability of the parents
to be used in F1 hybrid production.
 2. The identified superior plants to be used as parents will be selfed for several
generations to produce a series of inbred lines.
3. Crossing of selected inbred lines.

During the inbreeding process the vigor of the lines decreases drastically, usually to
less than half that of open-pollinated varieties. Vigor is restored, however, when any two
unrelated inbred lines are crossed, and in some cases the F 1 hybrids between inbred lines
are much superior to open-pollinated varieties. An important consequence of the
homozygosity of the inbred lines is that the hybrid between any two inbred will always be the
same. Once the inbred that give the best hybrids have been identified, any desired amount
of hybrid seed can be produced.
Pollination in corn is by wind, which blows pollen from the tassels to the styles (silk)
that protrude from the tops of the ears. Thus, controlled cross-pollination on a field scale can
be accomplished economically by interpolating two or three rows of the female with one row
of the male or pollinator. In practice, most hybrid corn is produced from “double crosses”, in
which four inbred lines are first crossed in pairs and then two F1 hybrids are crossed again.
The double-cross procedure has the advantage that the commercial F 1 seed is
produced on the highly productive single cross rather than on a poor-yielding inbred, thus
reducing seed costs. In recent years cytoplasmic male sterility, has been used to eliminate
detasseling of the seed parent, thus providing further economies in producing hybrid seed.
Much of the hybrid vigor exhibited by F1 hybrid varieties is lost in the next generation.
Consequently, seed from hybrid varieties is not used for planting stock but the farmer
purchases new seed each year from seed companies.

Four Main Steps of Hybrid Seed Production

1) Step 1. Choice and Development of Seed Parent (A-line).
 The seed parent or the female parent of a commercial hybrid should be male
sterile line. But in case of non-availability of suitable male sterile line, the fertile
or a self-incompatible line can be used where manual labor will be needed.
 But in case of vegetable crops where seed is not the economic product and
also only a single pollination will produce many seeds, there fertile pure line can
be used as seed parent. In case of monoecious plants like corn, the male
flowers can be removed easily as these are born on the shoots of the plants.
 After identification of a male sterile line (A-line), it should be maintained by an
isogenic B-line. Strains can be identified to have the B-line reaction by crossing
them to the A-line. Then a potential B-line is converted to A-line by a process of
repeated back-crossing till the A and B lines become similar (isogenic).
 Transfer of male sterility is required when disease susceptibility or unwanted
agronomic traits are associated with male sterile character.
 This can be done in two ways:
a) Single-Phase Repeated Back-Crossing. This method follows the
repeated backcrossing of existing male sterile line (non-recurrent parent)
possessing the desirable characteristics. In case of transferring
cytoplasmic male sterility, it is convenient through six generations of back-
crossing. But in case of developing cytoplasmic-genetic male sterility, it
should possess required agronomic characters and maintenance of male
sterility is needed through B-line or maintainer line.
 b) Two Phase Limited Back-Crossing. In this method instead of using A-
line as non-recurrent parent, the B-line is back-crossed with a parent of
desirable donors and the new line formed is termed as I BC lines which will
help to develop the male sterile line with desirable attributes.
c) The desirable attributes which should be considered for a male sterile or
A-line development are:
i. Plant Height. Male sterile line should not be tall or too dwarf. Since
plant height of the hybrid is the function of both the parents, so
plant height of A-line should be lower than that of R-line (male
fertile parent).
ii. Duration and Span of Flowering. This is an important attribute for
commercial hybrid seed production. Successful hybrid seed
production depends on the synchrony between flowering of seed
parent (A-line) and male fertile parent (R-line).
iii. Tillering Ability. Profuse and synchronous tillering on a male sterile
is advantageous both for harvesting male sterile seeds and also
hybrid seeds.
iv. Productivity Potential. As the main objective is more hybrid seed
production, thus male sterile lines should possess a high
productivity potential.
v. Stable Male Sterillity. An ideal male sterile line should maintain its
sterility under all environmental conditions.
vi. Free from Diseases. The male sterile line and also the R-line
should be resistant to probable diseases particularly seed-borne
diseases.
vii. Combining Ability. The male sterile line under must have a high
general combining ability, so that it can combine well with R-lines
to produce a large number of hybrids.

2) Step 2. Choice and Development of Restorer or Male Parent (R-line).

 The second component which is required for hybrid production is the male
parent or restorer lines which are essentially inbred lines, like A-lines. Their
development is done through pure line selection, method where forced selfing
is practiced.
 The choice of parents for restorer line specifically depends on the presence of
few attributes like:
a) Ability to produce abundant pollen grains (profuse pollen production)
b) Maximum genetic diversity from the A-line chosen
c) High specific combining ability of the cross between A-line and the R-line.

3) Step 3. Maintenance and Multiplication of Parental Seeds.

 In case of cross-pollinated crops, the hybrid program is based in 3 lines A-line,
B-line (maintainer) and R-line (restorer) – all homozygous inbred are
maintained by the breeder. Any kind of change in the population should be
discarded by the breeder which may occur due to random pollination and
mutation.
 For proper maintenance, the A-lines and B-lines are grown in field in ideal agro-
nomic condition and in rows. In the border rows also, the B-lines are grown
 which supply sufficient pollen for pollinating A-line. On maturity the seeds of B-
line are harvested first and kept separately. Then the seeds of A-line are
harvested. Thus in the same field both A-lines and B-lines are maintained and
multiplied in the same block.
 For maintenance of R-line, the plot should be completely isolated from others.
The natural open pollination characteristic of cross-pollinated crop will be
helpful for its maintenance. There is no need to maintain the R-line separately
except for the first use, as R- line is automatically maintained in the hybrid
production block.

4) Step 4. Production and Improvement of F1 Hybrids.

 For F1 hybrid seed production, A-line and R-line are grown together in 4: 2 ratio
in hybrid production block. The arrangement is same except the B-lines have
been substituted by R-lines. At maturity the seeds of A-rows are harvested
separately and carefully as these hybrids and also the R-line seeds are
harvested for next use.
 For improvement of F1 hybrids, the parental lines should be improved. If the
incidence of diseases (for which the inbred lines are not resistant) occurs,
breakdown of male sterility in A-line and genetic weakness (like combining
ability, nutritional quality) appear, then these drawbacks can be removed by
changing the parental lines.
 In many crops like pearl millet, sorghum and maize, hybrid seed production
programme has been pursued and many of the hybrid varieties have been
released.

Teaching and Learning Activities

1. Who is the father of Plant Breeding and what are his contributions?
2. What are the goals of Plant breeding in the Philippines?
3. What are the different branches of plant breeding?
4. What are the disciplines involved in plant breeding?

Assessment Tasks
Discuss the following comprehendly:
1. Why do we breed plants?
2. What is the importance of Plant Breeding in the Philippines?
3. What are the importance of plant introduction in plant breeding?
4. Why do plant breeders need to produce new varieties of plants?

References
a. Plant Introduction: Purpose and Procedure at
https://www.biologydiscussion.com/plants/plant-introduction-purpose-and-procedure-
botany/60849.
b. Principles of Plant Breeding at https://agrimoon.com/wp-content/uploads/Principles-
of-Plant-Breeding.pdf.
c. Steps in Hybrid Seed Production at https://www.biologydiscussion.com/plant-
breeding/4-main-steps-of-hybrid-seed-production-plant-breeding/60856.