Question

State why plant breeders are interested in artificial hybridisation programme. How do they carry out this process?

Hint:

Artificial hybridisation is a key technique in plant breeding to produce superior crop varieties with desired traits.

Answer 1

Plant breeders are interested in artificial hybridisation because it allows them to combine desirable traits from two different plant varieties into a single variety. This helps improve crop yield, resistance to diseases, and adaptability to environmental conditions. It is also a method to develop new plant varieties with enhanced traits. The process of artificial hybridisation involves the following steps: - Emasculation: Anthers are removed from the flower of the female parent to prevent self-pollination. - Bagging: The emasculated flower is covered to avoid contamination by unwanted pollen. - Pollination: Pollen from the desired male parent is manually transferred to the stigma of the emasculated flower. - Re-bagging: The pollinated flower is covered again to ensure successful fertilisation.