LU4 : Conventional Breeding

Methods
1. Self pollinated crops
2. Cross pollinated crops Breeding
3. Hybrid varieties
Self Pollinated Crops
CLO1 : Illustrate various conventional
methods in plant breeding

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Hibiscus rosa-sinensis cultivars Malvaceae

Cultivars
 Cultivar
Is a group of genetically similar plants, which
may be identified (by some means) from other
groups of genetically similar plants

 Essential Characteristics:
• Identity: cultivar must be distinguishable
from other cultivars
• Reproducibility: the distinguishing
characteristic(s) need to be reproduced in the
progeny faithfully
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Cultivars and Self-pollinated Crops

How self-pollinated crop reached
In self-pollinated species: homozygosity level?
 Homozygous loci will remain homozygous
following self-pollination

 Heterozygous loci will segregate producing

half homozygous progeny and half
heterozygous progeny

 Plants selected from mixed populations after 5-

8 self generations will normally have reached a
practical level of homozygosity
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 Cultivars and Self-pollinated Crops

 In general, a mixed population of self-pollinated

plants is composed of plants with different
homozygous genotypes (i.e., a heterogeneous
population of homozygotes

 If single plants are selected from this population

and seed increased, each plant will produce a
‘pure’ population, but each population will be
different, based on the parental selection.

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Breeding Self-pollinated Crops

 Selection involves the ID and propagation of
individual genotypes from a land race population,
or following designed hybridizations

 Genetic variation must be identified and

distinguished from environment-based variation

 Selection procedures practiced in mixed

populations of self-pollinated crops can be
divided into two selection procedures.

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PURE LINE SELECTION

Breeding Methods of Self
• Pure line selection involves the development of a
Pollinated Crops new variety from a simple homozygous self-
pollinated plant. As a result, all the individuals
within a pure line have the same genotype and
1. Pure line variations, if any, are due to the environmental
2. Mass influences. In pure line selection, a large number
of superior plants are selected from a self-
3. Bulk pollinated crop, harvested individually,
4. Pedigree individual progenies are raised and evaluated and
the best progeny is released as a variety. This
5. Single Seed Descent
technique is also called individual plant selection.
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2

• The procedure of pure line selection involves individual
1. Selection of Superior plants and collection of seeds
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2. Growing Progeny Lines of the Selected plants
Progeny lines of individual plants are grown in the
second year and inferior progeny lines are rejected. Seeds
of each lined are collected separately
3. Preliminary Yield Trial
Preliminary yield trial of the remaining progenies is
carried out in the third year and inferior progenies are
rejected. Seeds of each line are collected separately.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF PURE LINES
All the plants within a pure line have same genotype,
as the parent plants are homozygous and self-
fertilizing. Variations, if any, within a pure line are
environmental and usually non-heritable. Selection
within a pure line is not effective. However, in the
course of time, variations produced by mechanical
mixtures, mutations and natural hybridization get
incorporated into the populations and further cycles
of mass selection and pure line selection may become
necessary to improve the variety.
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PROCEDURE OF PURE LINE
SELECTION
selection of superior plants and collection of their seeds
separately, growing individual plant progenies and
rejection of undesirable progenies, preliminary yield trial
and rejection of undesirable progenies, multi-location
trials and release of the most adaptable and superior
progeny as a new variety.
A large number of superior plants are selected in the first
year based on visual assessment for characteristics and
their seeds are collected separately. Selection is made on
the basis of easily observable characters.
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4. Replicated Yield Trials (Multi-location Trials)
Replicated yield trials are carried out at several
locations and inferior progeny lines are rejected. The
lines are screened for resistance and quality traits. This
is done from fourth to seventh years.
5. Variety Release and Seed Multiplication
This is done in the eighth year. The best progeny
selected from the above is released as a new variety.
The seeds are multiplied for distribution.
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MERITS & LIMITATIONS OF PURE
LINE SELECTION
• Pure line selection brings about the maximum
possible improvement over the original variety.
Pure line selections are extremely uniform in their
behavior. Uniform flowering, maturity etc are the
characteristic adaptations of pure lines. Due to their
extreme uniformity, such variations can easily be
identified in seed certification programs.
• However, pure line varieties show very narrow
range of adaptations to environmental fluctuations.
Pure line breeding is a tedious technique and the
varieties developed in this way, even though
uniform, are short-lived. 18
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 Mass selection vs pure line selection
Line mixture
Mass selection Pure line selection

Single plant offsprings

Mass Selection
Bulk of
phenotypically
similar plants
L1 L2 L3……. LN

Cultivar register Register and market

and marketing the best pure lines

Heterogenous cultivars Homogenous cultivars

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• The population raised from the selected

MASS SELECTION
• This is the method of improving a crop
strain through the selection of a large
number of superior plants by visual
assessment, pooling of their seeds and
developing a new variety from it. Selection
is done for easily observable characters like
plant height, nature of the panicle, grain or
seed size, resistance etc.
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plants will be more uniform and superior
when compared to the original population.
However, the population will show
considerable variations especially for
quantitative characters. The variations thus
produced are sometimes subjected to
progeny test.
• Progeny test is the technique of assessing
the performance of a crop population by
analyzing the performance of its progeny.
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PROCEDURE OF MASS SELECTION 2. Preliminary Yield Trials

This is usually done in the second year or second crop
The procedure of mass selection extends to 7-8 crop season. The bulked seeds are grown in a preliminary
seasons in case of annual crops. The procedure yield trial. The variety from which selection is made
involves identification of superior plants from a should also be included as a check in order to determine
population and bulking their seeds, preliminary improvement in characteristics.
yield trials, multi-location trials, seed
multiplication and distribution.
3. Multi-location trials
This is usually done from the third year onwards
1. Identification of superior plants and collections of
seeds
4. Seed Multiplication and Release
This is done in the first year of the experiment. A
large number of phenotypically similar superior After multi-location trials, the seeds are subjected to the
plants are selected and their seeds are bulked. procedure of variety release and then multiplied and
distributed to farmers.
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MERITS AND DEMERITS OF MASS

SELECTION
• Varieties developed through mass selection are more
widely adapted than pure lines since they are developed
from a large number of plants selected for their superior
characteristics. The procedure of mass selection is simple
and less sophisticated. Mass selection retains considerable
degree of genetic variability. Bulk Method
• But, the varieties developed trough mass selection are
non-uniform in comparison to pure lines. The degree of
improvement is only limited. Without progeny test, it is
not possible to assess the genetic stability of the variety.

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Points to consider in Bulk Method
1. Natural selection changes gene freq. via natural
survival
2. Breeder may assist nature and discard obviously
poor types
3. Relieves breeder of most record keeping
4. Most of us treat bulks with extremely low inputs
and low expectations.
 The bulk method is a procedure for inbreeding
a segregating population until a desired level of
homozygosity is reached.
 Seed used to grow each selfed generation is a
sample of the seed harvested in bulk from the
previous generation.
 In the bulk method, seeds harvested in the F1
through F4 generations are bulked without
selection; selection is delayed until advanced
generations (F5-F8).

 By this time, most segregation has stopped.

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 Bulk

Inbreed in bulk
to have homozygous
lines

Select superior lines

after F6

Crosses with no
high heritability
traits segregating 31 32

Advantages Disadvantages
1. Less record keeping than pedigree 1. Environmental changes from season to season so
adaptive advantages shift.
2. Inexpensive
3. Easy to handle more crosses 2. Most grow bulk seed lots in area of adaptation.
4. Natural selection is primarily for competitive 3. Less efficient than pedigree method on highly heritable
ability traits (because can purge non-selections in early
generations).
5. More useful than pedigree method with lower
h2 traits 4. Not useful in selecting plant types at a competitive
disadvantage (dwarf types).
6. Large numbers of genotypes can be maintained
5. Final genotypes may be able to withstand
7. Works well with unadapted germplasm environmental stress, but may not be highest yielding.
8. Can be carried on for many years with little
6. If used with a cross pollinated species, inbreeding
effort by the breeder 33
depression may be a problem. 34

Pedigree Method
 Most popular
 Essentially a plant to row system to develop near
pure lines
Pedigree Method  Followed by performance testing of resulting
strains.
 This method and its variants require a lot of
record keeping.

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 Genetic Considerations:
1. Additive genetic variability decreases within lines
and increases among lines, assuming no selection
recall the movement toward homozygosity following
the hybridization of unlike and homozygous parents
2. Dominant genetic variability complicates pedigree
selection homozygous and heterozygous individuals
look alike and therefore you may continually select
the heterozygote
THUS, selection can be discontinued with phenotypic
uniformity within a line is obtained

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Pedigree

Selection
during
inbreeding

Early
generations:
High heritability
traits
Late generations:
low heritability
traits
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Advantages
1. Eliminates unpromising material at early stages;
2. Multi-year records allow good overview of
inheritance, and more effective selection through
trials in different environments;
3. Multiple families (from different F2 individuals) are
maintained yielding different gene combinations
with common phenotype
Disadvantages
1. Most labor, time and resource intensive method;
usually compromise between # crosses and
population sizes;
2. Very dependent on skill of breeder in recognizing
promising material;
3. Not very effective with low h2 traits;
4. Slow; can usually put through only one generation
per year, and the right environmental conditions must
be at hand for accurate selection.

5. Upper ceiling set by allelic contents of F2; can not

4. Allows for comparison to other breeding strategies
purge selections of undesirable alleles once ‘fixed’.
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 Single Seed Descent
• SSD is a modification of bulk method.
• This is classic procedure of having a single

Single Seed Descent seed from each plant, bulking the

individual seeds and planting out the next
generation.
• With this procedure one or two seed are
collected from each F2 plant and then bulk
to grow F3 generation.

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Single Seed Descent

Inbreed with one seed

from each plant in each
generation

Select superior line

after F6

Crosses with no
high heritability
traits segregating
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Advantages Disadvantages
1. Rapid generation advance; 2-4 generations/yr
1. May carry inferior material forward
2. Requires less space,time and resources in early stages,
therefore accommodates higher # crosses; 2. Fewer field evaluations, so you lose the
advantage of natural selection
3. Superior to bulk/mass selection if the desired genotype is
at a competitive disadvantage; natural selection usually
has little impact on population. 3. Need appropriate facilities to allow controlled
environment manipulation of plants for rapid
4. Delayed selection eliminated confusing effects of seed production cycles (day length, moisture and
heterozygosity; more effective than pedigree breeding nutrient control)
when dealing with low h2 traits;

5. Highly amenable to modifications and can be combined

with any method of selection. 47 48