INTRODUCTION

Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in

order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to
improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and
animals. 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 technique. 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.
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.
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. 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.
 Classical plant breeding:-
One major technique of plant breeding is selection,
the process of selectively propagating plants with
desirable characteristics and eliminating or "culling"
those with less desirable characteristics.
Another technique is the deliberate interbreeding
(crossing) of closely or distantly related individuals
to produce new crop varieties or lines with desirable
properties. Plants are crossbred to
introduce traits/genes from one variety or line into a
new genetic background. For example, a mildew-
resistant pea may be crossed with a high-yielding but
susceptible pea, the goal of the cross being to
introduce mildew resistance without losing the high-
yield characteristics. Progeny from the cross would
then be crossed with the high-yielding parent to
ensure that the progeny were most like the high-
yielding parent, (backcrossing). The progeny from
that cross would then be tested for yield (selection,
as described above) and mildew resistance and high-
yielding resistant plants would be further developed.
Plants may also be crossed with themselves to
produce inbred varieties for breeding. Pollinators
may be excluded through the use of pollination bags.
Classical breeding relies largely on homologous
recombination between chromosomes to
generate genetic diversity. The classical plant
breeder may also make use of a number of in
vitro techniques such as protoplast fusion, embryo
rescue or mutagenesis (see below) to generate
diversity and produce hybrid plants that would not
exist in nature.
Traits that breeders have tried to incorporate into
crop plants include:
1. Improved quality, such as increased nutrition,
improved flavor, or greater beauty
2. Increased yield of the crop
3. Increased tolerance of environmental pressures
(salinity, extreme temperature, drought)
4. Resistance to viruses, fungi and bacteria
5. Increased tolerance to insect pests
6. Increased tolerance of herbicides
7.Longer storage period for the harvested crop
 Modern plant breeding:-
Modern plant breeding may use techniques of
molecular biology to select, or in the case of
genetic modification, to insert, desirable traits
into plants. Application of biotechnology or
molecular biology is also known as molecular
breeding.

1. Marker assisted selection-

Sometimes many different genes can
influence a desirable trait in plant breeding. The use
of tools such as molecular markers or DNA
fingerprinting can map thousands of genes. This
allows plant breeders to screen large populations of
plants for those that possess the trait of interest. The
screening is based on the presence or absence of a
certain gene as determined by laboratory
procedures, rather than on the visual identification
of the expressed trait in the plant. The purpose of
marker assisted selection, or plant genomes analysis,
is to identify the location and function (phenotype)
of various genes within the genome. If all of the
genes are identified it leads to Genome sequence. All
plants have varying sizes and lengths of genomes
with genes that code for different proteins, but many
are also the same. If a gene's location and function is
identified in one plant species, a very similar gene
likely can also be found in a similar location in
another species genome.
2. Reverse breeding and doubled haploids (DH)-
Homozygous plants with desirable traits can be
produced from heterozygous starting plants, if a
haploid cell with the alleles for those traits can be
produced, and then used to make a doubled haploid.
The doubled haploid will be homozygous for the
desired traits. Furthermore, two different
homozygous plants created in that way can be used
to produce a generation of F1 hybrid plants which
have the advantages of HETEROZYGOSITY and a
greater range of possible traits. Thus, an individual
heterozygous plant chosen for its desirable
characteristics can be converted into a heterozygous
variety (F1 hybrid) without the necessity
of vegetative reproduction but as the result of the
cross of two homozygous/doubled haploid lines
derived from the originally selected plant. Using
plant tissue culturing can produce haploid or double
haploid plant lines and generations. This minimizes
the amount of genetic diversity among that plant
species in order to select for desirable traits that will
increase the fitness of the individuals. Using this
method decreases the need for breeding multiple
generations of plants to get a generation that is
homologous for the desired traits, therefore save
much time in the process. There are many plant
tissue culturing techniques that can be used to
achieve the haploid plants, but microspore culturing
is currently the most promising for producing the
largest numbers of them.
3. Genetic modification-
Genetic modification of plants is
achieved by adding a specific gene or genes to a
plant, or by knocking down a gene with RNA, to
produce a desirable phenotype. The plants resulting
from adding a gene are often referred to
as transgenic plants. If for genetic modification
genes of the species or of a crossable plant are used
under control of their native promoter. Sometimes
genetic modification can produce a plant with the
desired trait or traits faster than classical breeding
because the majority of the plant's genome is not
altered.
To genetically modify a plant, a genetic construct
must be designed so that the gene to be added or
removed will be expressed by the plant. To do this,
a promoter to drive transcription and a termination
sequence to stop transcription of the new gene, and
the gene or genes of interest must be introduced to
the plant. A marker for the selection of transformed
plants is also included. In the laboratory, antibiotic
resistance is a commonly used marker: Plants that
have been successfully transformed will grow on
media containing antibiotics; plants that have not
been transformed will die. In some instances
markers for selection are removed
by backcrossing with the parent plant prior to
commercial release.
The construct can be inserted in the plant genome
by genetic recombination using the bacteria or by
direct methods like the gene gun or microinjection.
Using plant viruses to insert genetic constructs into
plants is also a possibility, but the technique is
limited by the host range of the virus. For
example, Cauliflower mosaic virus only
infects cauliflower and related species. Another
limitation of viral vectors is that the virus is not
usually passed on the progeny, so every plant has to
be inoculated.
The majority of commercially released transgenic
plants are currently limited to plants that have
introduced resistance to insect pests and herbicides.
Insect resistance is achieved through incorporation
of a gene from (Bt) that encodes a protein that is
toxic to some insects. For example, the cotton
bollworm, a common cotton pest, feeds on BT
cotton it will ingest the toxin and die. Herbicides
usually work by binding to certain plant enzymes
and inhibiting their action. The enzymes that the
herbicide inhibits are known as the herbicides target
site. Herbicide resistance can be engineered into
crops by expressing a version of target site protein
that is not inhibited by the herbicide. This is the
method used to produce resistant crop plants .
Genetic modification can further increase yields by
increasing stress tolerance to a given environment.
Stresses such as temperature variation, are to the
plant via a cascade of molecules which will activate
a Transcription factor to regulate Gene expression.
Over expression of particular genes involved in cold
acclimation has been shown to become more
resistant to freezing, which is one common cause of
yield loss.
Genetic modification of plants that can
produce pharmaceuticals (and industrial chemicals)
, sometimes called PHARMING , is a rather radical
new area of plant breeding.
 Issues and concerns
Modern plant breeding, whether classical or
through genetic engineering, comes with issues
of concern, particularly with regard to food
crops. The question of whether breeding can
have a negative effect on nutritional value is
central in this respect. Although relatively little
direct research in this area has been done, there
are scientific indications that, by favoring
certain aspects of a plant's development, other
aspects may be retarded. A study published in
the Journal of the American College of
Nutrition in 2004, entitled Changes in USDA
Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops,
1950 to 1999, compared nutritional analysis
of vegetables done in 1950 and in 1999, and
found substantial decreases in six of
13 nutrients measured, including 6%
of protein and 38% of riboflavin. Reductions
in calcium, phosphorus, iron and ascorbic
acid were also found. The study, conducted at
the Biochemical Institute, University of Texas at
Austin, concluded in summary: "We suggest
that any real declines are generally most easily
explained by changes in cultivated varieties
between 1950 and 1999, in which there may be
trade-offs between yield and nutrient content."
The debate surrounding genetically modified
food during the 1990s peaked in 1999 in terms
of media coverage and risk perception, and
continues today – for example, "Germany has
thrown its weight behind a growing European
mutiny over genetically modified crops by
banning the planting of a widely grown pest-
resistant corn variety." The debate
encompasses the ecological impact of
genetically modified plants, the safety
of genetically modified food and concepts used
for safety evaluation like substantial
equivalence. Such concerns are not new to plant
breeding. Most countries have regulatory
processes in place to help ensure that new crop
varieties entering the marketplace are both safe
and meet farmers' needs. Examples include
variety registration, seed schemes, regulatory
authorizations for GM plants, etc.
Plant breeders' rights is also a major and
controversial issue. Today, production of new
varieties is dominated by commercial plant
breeders, who seek to protect their work and
collect royalties through national and
international agreements based in intellectual
property rights. The range of related issues is
complex. In the simplest terms, critics of the
increasingly restrictive regulations argue that,
through a combination of technical and
economic pressures, commercial breeders are
reducing biodiversity and significantly
constraining individuals (such as farmers) from
developing and trading seed on a regional
level.[18] Efforts to strengthen breeders' rights,
for example, by lengthening periods of variety
protection, are ongoing.
When new plant breeds or cultivars are bred,
they must be maintained and propagated. Some
plants are propagated by asexual means while
others are propagated by seeds. Seed
propagated cultivars require specific control
over seed source and production procedures to
maintain the integrity of the plant breeds
results. Isolation is necessary to prevent cross
contamination with related plants or the mixing
of seeds after harvesting. Isolation is normally
accomplished by planting distance but in
certain crops, plants are enclosed in
greenhouses or cages (most commonly used
when producing F1 hybrids.)
 Role of plant breeding in organic
agriculture
Critics of organic agriculture claim it is too low-
yielding to be a viable alternative to
conventional agriculture. However, part of that
poor performance may be the result of growing
poorly adapted varieties. It is estimated that
over 95% of organic agriculture is based on
conventionally adapted varieties, even though
the production environments found in organic
vs. conventional farming systems are vastly
different due to their distinctive management
practices. Most notably, organic farmers have
fewer inputs available than conventional
growers to control their production
environments. Breeding varieties specifically
adapted to the unique conditions of organic
agriculture is critical for this sector to realize its
full potential. This requires selection for traits
such as:
 Water use efficiency
 Nutrient use efficiency
(particularly nitrogen and phosphorus)
 Weed competitiveness
 Tolerance of mechanical weed control
 Pest/disease resistance

 Early maturity (as a mechanism for avoidance

of particular stresses)
 A biotic stress tolerance (i.e. drought, salinity,

etc...)
Currently, few breeding programs are directed
at organic agriculture and until recently those
that did address this sector have generally relied
on indirect selection (i.e. selection in
conventional environments for traits considered
important for organic agriculture). However,
because the difference between organic and
conventional environments is large, a
given genotype may perform very differently in
each environment due to an interaction
between genes and the environment (see gene-
environment interaction). If this interaction is
severe enough, an important trait required for
the organic environment may not be revealed in
the conventional environment, which can result
in the selection of poorly adapted
individuals. To ensure the most adapted
varieties are identified, advocates of organic
breeding now promote the use of direct
selection (i.e. selection in the target
environment) for many agronomic traits.
There are many classical and modern breeding
techniques that can be utilized for crop
improvement in organic agriculture despite the
ban on genetically modified organisms. For
instance, controlled crosses between individuals
allow desirable genetic variation to be
recombined and transferred to seed progeny via
natural processes. Marker assisted selection can
also be employed as a diagnostics tool to
facilitate selection of progeny who possess the
desired trait(s), greatly speeding up the
breeding process. This technique has proven
particularly useful for the introgression of
resistance genes into new backgrounds, as well
as the efficient selection of many resistance
genes pyramided into a single individual.
Unfortunately, molecular markers are not
currently available for many important traits,
especially complex ones controlled by many
genes.
Addressing global food security
through plant breeding
For agriculture to thrive in the future, changes
must be made to address arising global issues.
These issues are the lack of arable land,
increasingly harsh cropping conditions and the
need to maintain food security, which involves
being able to provide the world population with
sufficient nutrition. Crops need to be able to
mature in multiple environments to allow
worldwide access, which involves solving
problems including drought tolerance. Global
solutions are achievable through the process of
plant breeding, with its ability to select specific
genes allowing crops to perform at a level which
yields the desired results.

1. Increased yield without expansion-

With an increasing population, the production of food

needs to increase with it. It is estimated that a 70%
increase in food production is needed by 2050 in
order to meet the Declaration of the World Summit on
Food Security. But with the degradation of
 agricultural land, simply planting more crops is no
longer a viable option. New varieties of plants can in
some cases be developed through plant breeding that
generate an increase of yield without relying on an
increase in land area. An example of this can be seen
in Asia, where food production per capita has
increased twofold. This has been achieved through not
only the use of fertilizers, but through the use of better
crops that have been specifically designed for the area.

2. Breeding for increased nutritional value-

Plant breeding can contribute to global food
security as it is a cost-effective tool for increasing
nutritional value of forage and crops. Improvements in
nutritional value for forage crops from the use of analytical
chemistry and rumen fermentation technology have been
recorded since 1960; this science and technology gave
breeders the ability to screen thousands of samples within
a small amount of time, meaning breeders could identify a
high performing hybrid quicker. The main area genetic
increases were made was in vitro dry matter digestibility
(IVDMD) resulting in 0.7-2.5% increase, at just 1%
increase in IVDMD a single Taurus also known as beef
cattle reported 3.2% increase in daily gains. This
improvement indicates plant breeding is an essential tool
in gearing future agriculture to perform at a more
advanced level.
 3. Breeding for tolerance-
Plant breeding of hybrid crops has become
extremely popular worldwide in an effort to combat the
harsh environment. With long periods of drought and lack
of water or nitrogen stress tolerance has become a
significant part of agriculture. Plant breeders have focused
on identifying crops which will ensure crops perform
under these conditions; a way to achieve this is finding
strains of the crop that is resistance to drought conditions
with low nitrogen. It is evident from this that plant
breeding is vital for future agriculture to survive as it
enables farmers to produce stress resistant crops hence
improving food security. In countries that experience
harsh winters such as Iceland, Germany and further east
in Europe, plant breeders are involved in breeding for
tolerance to frost, continuous snow-cover, frost-drought
(desiccation from wind and solar radiation under frost)
and high moisture levels in soil in winter.
 Participatory plant breeding
Participatory plant breeding (PPB) is when farmers are
involved in a crop improvement with opportunities to make
decisions and contribute to the research process at different
stages. Participatory approaches to crop improvement can
also be applied when plant biotechnologies are being used
for crop improvement. Local agricultural systems and
genetic diversity are developed and strengthened by crop
improvement, which participatory crop improvement (PCI)
plays a large role. PPB is enhanced by farmers knowledge of
the quality required and evaluation of target environment
which affects the effectiveness of PPB.