Plant breeding methods

Plant breeding involves selecting and crossing plants with desirable traits—like better yield, disease resistance, or drought tolerance—to produce improved varieties. Breeders choose parent plants, mate them, and select the best offspring over generations. Methods include traditional crossbreeding, where plants are physically crossed, and modern techniques like genetic modification or marker-assisted selection, which use technology to identify and incorporate specific genes. The goal is to develop plants that meet agricultural and food needs more effectively, ensuring higher quality, productivity, and sustainability.