Plant Breeding
History, Applications, & Methods
hybrid tea rose
plant breeding, 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. Such processes, repeated over many generations, can change the hereditary makeup and value of a plant population far beyond the natural limits of previously existing populations. This article emphasizes the application of genetic principles to the improvement of plants; the biological factors underlying plant breeding are dealt with in the article heredity. For a discussion on transgenic crops, see genetically modified organism.
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