Tag: method of plant breeding for crop improvement

A crescograph is a device for measuring growth in plants. It was invented in the early 20th century by Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose. The Bose crescograph uses a series of clockwork gears and a smoked glass plate to record the movement of the tip of a plant (or its roots) at magnifications of up to 10,000. Marks are made on the plate at intervals of a few seconds, demonstrating how the rate of growth varies under varying stimuli. Bose experimented with temperature, chemicals, gases and electricity.

Hybrid plants can be developed by the breeding of the plants of different species. The parents are genetically different plants. The hybrid of maize plant was developed in order to obtain higher yield. The plants with the trait of producing higher yield were crossed with the other plant with superior character. The number of grains in the plant and the number of fruits is counted to obtain a higher yield. 

In intravarietal hybridization, the crosses are made between the plants of same variety. Thus, option C is correct.

The prime aim of plant breeding is to improve the characteristics of plants that they become more useful automatically and economically. Some of the objectives may be summarized as follows-
1. Higher yield: Higher yield of grain, fodder, fibre, sugar, oil etc.
2. Improved quality: The quality characters may vary from one crop to another, such as grain size, shape, colour, milling and backing quality of wheat, cooks quality in rice, malting in barley. Size shape and flavour in fruits and keeping quality of vegetables, protein contents in legumes, methionine and tryptophan contents in pulses etc.
3. Disease and pest resistance: Resistant varieties offer the cheapest and most convenient method of disease and pest control. They not only helps to increase the production but also stabilize the productivity.
4. Maturity duration: It permits new crop rotation and extends crop area. Thus breeding for early maturing varieties suitable for different dates of planting. This enables the farmer to take two-three crops in a year.
5. Agronomic characters: Three includes the characters, such as dwarf, profuse tillering, branching erect resistance and fertilizer responsiveness. Thus, option D is correct.

Emasculation involves the removal of stamens from bisexual flowers of the female parents in order to avoid self-pollination in these flowers. It is done before the anthers are mature. If in a condition the female parent bears bisexual flowers, then elimination of anthers from the flower bud before the anther matures. This step is known as emasculation.  

'Sugarcane Breeding Institute' is the sugarcane research and development institute located in Coimbatore, India. On the 1st day of April 1932, a sub-station of the 'Sugarcane Breeding Institute', Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) was established at Karnal (Haryana) with funds provided by the then 'Imperial Council of Agricultural Research' (now the Indian Council of Agricultural Research abbreviated as ICAR). 

Central Food Technological Research Institute, is one of the laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research located in Mysore, Karnataka.