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Everything you need to know about plant breeding !
Q. 1. What is plant breeding?
Ans. Plant breeding is defined as the art, science and technology of improving genetic make-up of crop plants in relation to their economic use for mankind.
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Q. 2. Who defined plant breeding as current phase of crop evolution?
Ans. N.W. Simmonds (1979) defined plant breeding as the current phase of crop evolution.
Q. 3. Who used the term technology for plant breeding?
Ans. Riley (1978) defined plant breeding as a technology of developing superior crop plants for various purposes.
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Q. 4. What is plant breeding as per Frankel (1968)?
Ans. According to Frankel (1968), plant breeding is the genetic adjustment of plants to social, cultural, economic and technological aspects of the environment.
Q. 5. How Poehlman defined plant breeding?
Ans. According to J.M. Poehlman (1959), plant breeding is the art and the science of improving the heredity of crop plants for the benefit of human kind.
Q. 6. What are different branches of plant breeding?
Ans. Various branches of plant breeding are given below:
(i) Agricultural Plant Breeding
(ii) Horticultural Plant Breeding
(iii) Tree Breeding
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(iv) Medicinal Plant Breeding
(v) Stress Breeding
(vi) Quality Breeding
(vii) Mutation Breeding
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(viii) Polyploidy Breeding
(ix) Physiological crop Breeding
(x) Introgressive Breeding
(xi) Transgenic Breeding
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(xii) Maintenance Breeding
(xiii) Molecular breeding.
Q. 7. What are important areas of plant breeding?
Ans. There are three main areas of plant breeding as given below:
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(i) Plant genetic resources or germplasm
(ii) Plant breeding techniques
(iii) Seed production techniques.
Q. 8. What are objectives of plant breeding?
Ans. Important objectives of plant breeding are given below:
(i) Higher yield
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(ii) Improved quality
(iii) Resistance to biotic stresses
(iv) Resistance to abiotic stresses
(v) Earliness
(vi) Synchronous maturity
(vii) Photo insensitivity
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(viii) Thermo insensitivity
(ix) Wider adaptability
(x) Low toxic substances
(xi) Short stature etc.
Q. 9. What are disciplines which are involved in plant breeding?
Ans. Involvement of following disciplines is required in crop improvement work:
(i) Morphology and Taxonomy
(ii) Genetics and cytogenetics
(iii) Plant physiology
(iv) Plant pathology
(v) Entomology
(vi) Agronomy
(vii) Soil science
(viii) Biochemistry
(ix) Agricultural engineering
(x) Statistics
(xi) Biometrics
(xii) Computers
(xiii) Biotechnology.
Q. 10. What is the role of taxonomy in plant breeding?
Ans. Knowledge of taxonomy is useful in the identification of wild species and wild relatives of crop plants.
Q. 11. How knowledge of genetics is useful in plant breeding?
Ans. It is useful in the study of inheritance of various oligogenic characters, linkage studies and gene transfer.
Q. 12. What is the role of plant physiology in plant breeding?
Ans. Knowledge of plant physiology is useful in breeding crop cultivars resistant to drought, heat, cold, frost etc. and also for developing crop ideotypes.
Q. 13. How knowledge of plant pathology and entomology is useful in plant breeding?
Ans. Pathologist helps in breeding disease resistant varieties and entomologist helps in evolving insect resistant cultivars.
Q. 14. What is the role of agronomy in plant breeding?
Ans. Knowledge of agronomy is useful in developing crop cultivars resistant to herbicides and parasitic weeds.
Q. 15. How knowledge of soil science is useful in plant breeding?
Ans. Knowledge of soil science is useful in evolving crop cultivars resistant to soil salinity, alkalinity and acidity.
Q. 16. What is the role of biochemistry in plant breeding?
Ans. Biochemist helps breeder in developing crop cultivars with:
(i) Better quality and
(ii) Low level of toxic substances.
Q. 17. What is the role of agricultural engineer in plant breeding?
Ans. Agricultural engineer helps breeder in evolving crop cultivars suitable for machine harvesting.
Q. 18. How knowledge of statistics and biometrics is useful to the plant breeder?
Ans. Knowledge of statistics and biometrics is useful for proper conduct of breeding experiments and for various biometrical analyses.
Q. 19. How computers are useful in plant breeding?
Ans. In plant breeding, computers are useful in biometrical and statistical analyses, storage of information, report writing, diagrammatic representation, updating of information, plant modelling etc.
Q. 20. What is the role of biotechnology in crop improvement?
Ans. Biotechnology plays important role in following ways:
(i) In developing transgenic varieties with herbicide resistance, good quality and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.
(ii) In marker aided selection (molecular breeding)
(iii) In overcoming barriers of cross incompatibility through somatic hybridization.
(iv) In developing transgenic male sterility for use in hybrid seed production of different crops.
Q. 21. What is transgenic breeding?
Ans. A branch of plant breeding which deals with genetic improvement of crop plants for various economic characters through plant biotechnology (genetic engineering) is known as transgenic breeding.
Q. 22. What is molecular breeding?
Ans. A branch of plant breeding which deals with genetic improvement of crop plants for various economic characters through indirect selection for linked molecular markers (DNA markers) is called molecular breeding. It utilizes molecular techniques such as RFLP, AFLP, RAPD, CAPS, and SSR etc. for selection of superior plants.
Q. 23. What is maintenance breeding?
Ans. A branch of plant breeding which deals with principles of pure seed production is known as maintenance breeding or seed production technology. It deals with ways and means of maintaining genetic and physical purity of released and notified varieties and parents of commercial hybrids.
Q. 24. What is physiological crop breeding?
Ans. It is a branch of plant breeding which deals with genetic improvement of crop plants in relation to following physiological parameters.
(i) CO2 fixation efficiency
(ii) Nutrient uptake capacity
(iii) Harvest index
(iv) Reduction in photorespiration and transpiration rate
(v) Development of ideal plant types
(vi) Development of thermo and photo-insensitive genotypes etc.
Q. 25. What is introgressive breeding?
Ans. It deals with genetic improvement of crop plants by transferring desirable genes from wild species into cultivated species of crop plants.
Q. 26. Who discovered sex in plants?
Ans. The sex in plants was first discovered in 1694 by Camerarius, a German researcher.
Q. 27. Who made first interspecific cross?
Ans. The first interspecific cross was made by Thomas Fairchild in 1717 in England between two species of Dianthus i.e. Dianthus barbatus X D. Caryophyllus.
Q. 28. Who identified self and cross pollinated plants?
Ans. In plants, self-pollination and cross pollination were first identified by Sprengel in 18th century.
Q. 29. Who developed semi-dwarf varieties of wheat?
Ans. Semi dwarf varieties of wheat were first developed by Norman E. Borlaug in 1965. He developed semi-dwarf varieties of wheat at CIMMYT in Mexico.
Q. 30. When Borlaug was awarded Nobel Prize?
Ans. Norman E. Borlaug was awarded Nobel Prize in 1970 for developing semi-dwarf varieties of wheat. His varieties brought revolution in wheat production the world over.
Q. 31. Who is known as the father of green revolution?
Ans. Norman E. Borlaug is known as the father of green revolution.
Q. 32. What is the source of dwarfing gene in wheat?
Ans. In wheat, Norin 10 line is the source of dwarfing gene which has been used in developing semi-dwarf varieties of wheat.
Q. 33. Who is known as the father of Indian green revolution?
Ans. M.S. Swaminathan, an eminent plant breeder, is known as the father of green revolution in India.
Q. 34. What is Tift 23A?
Ans. Tift 23A is an important source of cytoplasmic genie male sterility in pearl millet.
Q. 35. What is Kafir 60?
Ans. Kafir 60 is an important source of cytoplasmic genie male sterility in Sorghum.
Q. 36. What is Gregg 399?
Ans. Gregg 399 is an important source of genetic male sterility in cotton. It has been used in developing commercial hybrids in cotton.
Q. 37. What is the significance of Gossypium harknessii in cotton?
Ans. In cotton, wild diploid species Gossypium harknessii is an important source of cytoplasmic genie male sterility. This CGMS source is being used in developing commercial hybrids of cotton.
Q. 38. What is source of dwarfing gene in rice?
Ans. In rice, line Dee-Geo-Woogen is the source of dwarfing gene. It has been used in developing semi dwarf varieties of rice.
Q. 39. Who developed first cotton hybrid?
Ans. The world’s first cotton hybrid (H4) was developed by C.T. Patel in 1970 for commercial cultivation in Gujarat (India). For this outstanding achievement, CT Patel was awarded Padmashree.
Q. 40. Who is known as the father of hybrid cotton?
Ans. C.T. Patel is known as the father of hybrid cotton and Gujarat is known as home of the hybrid cotton.
Q. 41. Who developed first rice hybrid?
Ans. The world’s first rice hybrid was developed in China in 1976 by Y.L. Ping et al. using cytoplasmic genie male sterility.
Q. 42. Who developed first pigeon-pea hybrid?
Ans. In pigeon pea, world’s first hybrid (ICPH8) was developed in India in 1991 from International Crop Research Institute for Semiarid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad. It was developed using genetic male sterility.
Q. 43. Who developed first transgenic plant?
Ans. The first transgenic plant was developed by Fraley et al. in 1983 in USA in Tobacco.
Q. 44. Who developed first transgenic cotton?
Ans. The transgenic cotton plant was first developed by Monsanto Company of USA in 1997.
Q. 45. What is terminator gene?
Ans. In transgenic plants, a gene which allows germination of seed in one generation only is called terminator gene. This gene leads to abortion of embryo resulting in termination of seed viability.
Q. 46. Who identified terminator gene?
Ans. The terminator gene was first identified by Monsanto Company of USA in 1997.
Q. 47. What is traitor gene?
Ans. In transgenic plants, a gene which responds to specific brand of fertilizers and insecticides only is known as traitor gene. Use of such gene will lead to monopoly of a company for sale of seed, fertilizers and insecticides.
Q. 48. Who identified traitor gene?
Ans. The traitor gene was first identified by Monsanto Seed Company of USA in 1998. Use of this gene has not been permitted in plant breeding.
Q. 49. Who wrote famous book “Principles of Plant Breeding”?
Ans. The famous book Principles of Plant Breeding was written by RW Allard of USA in 1960.
Q. 50. Who wrote the book Methods of Plant Breeding?
Ans. The book Methods of Plant Breeding was written by Hays, Immer and Smith in 1955.
Q. 51. Who wrote famous book Breeding Field Crops?
Ans. The book Breeding Field Crops was written by John Milton Poehlman in 1959 in USA.
Q. 52. Who wrote famous book Breeding Asian Field Crops?
Ans. The book Breeding Asian Field Crops was written by JM Poehlman and Dhirendra Borthakur.
Q. 53. Who wrote the Book Principles of Crop Improvement?
Ans. The book Principles of Crop Improvement was written by NW Simmonds, an English Plant breeder, in 1979.
Q. 54. Who wrote the book Principles of Cultivar Development?
Ans. The book Principles of Cultivar Development was written by Walter Fehr, an American Plant Breeder, in 1987.
Q. 55. Who was TS Venkatraman?
Ans. TS Venkatraman was a famous Indian Sugarcane breeder. He was Director of Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore. He developed several high yielding varieties of sugarcane.
Q. 56. Who was BP Paul?
Ans. BP Paul was an eminent wheat breeder. He developed several varieties of wheat. He was first Director General of ICAR.
Q. 57. Who was Puskarnath?
Ans. Puskarnath was a famous potato breeder. He developed several varieties of potato. He was Director of Central Potato Research Institute Simla.
Q. 58. Who was K. Ramiah?
Ans. K. Ramiah was a renowned rice breeder. He developed several varieties of rice. He was Director of Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack.
Q. 59. Who was Bosi Sen?
Ans. Bosi sen was a famous maize breeder. He developed several maize varieties at Vivekanand Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Shala, Almora (Uttaranchal).
Q. 60. Who was D.S. Athwal?
Ans. D.S. Athwal was a pearl-millet breeder at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He developed several varieties of pearl millet.
Q. 61. Who is M.S. Swaminathan?
Ans. M.S. Swaminathan is a famous plant breeder who is responsible for green revolution in India. He was second Director General of ICAR. He was also Director General of International Rice Research Institute, Manila, Philippines.
Q. 62. Who is N.G.P. Rao?
Ans. He is an eminent sorghum breeder. He developed several hybrids in sorghum. He was vice chancellor of Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani and Chairman of Agricultural Scientist Recruitment Board, New Delhi.
Q. 63. Who was Dharam Pal Singh?
Ans. Dharam Pal Singh was a famous oil seed breeder at Kanpur. He was vice chancellor of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. Pant Nagar.
Q. 64. Who was C.T. Patel?
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Ans. C.T. Patel was a famous cotton breeder at Surat. He developed world’s first cotton hybrid (H4) in 1970 for which he was awarded Padmashree. He is known as father of hybrid cotton.
Q. 65. What are major achievements of plant breeding in India?
Ans. Major achievements of plant breeding in India are given below:
(i) Improvement in yield
(ii) Improvement in quality
(iii) Resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses
(iv) Earliness
(v) Wide adaptability
(vi) Dwarfness, etc.
Q. 66. What are undesirable effects of plant breeding?
Ans. Undesirable effects of plant breeding are given below:
(i) Reduction in diversity
(ii) Narrow genetic base
(iii) Danger of uniformity
(iv) Sometimes undesirable combinations.
