Food security throughout the world may benefit greatly from hybrid agricultural and horticulture crops. Compared to non-hybrid cultivars, hybrids provide better yields and are frequently more resistant to disease and climatic stress. However, hybrid variants aren’t accessible for all crops.
Global food security may benefit from the use of horticultural and hybrid crops. These hybrid cultivars produce more with a given acreage and are more resistant to pests and disease than non-hybrid species.
However, many crops do not have the ability to produce hybrids. What may be the explanation for this occurrence?
With hybrid cultivars frequently utilised, maize is a significant crop on a global scale. When the first hybrid maize was developed in 1930, it was an enormous success. A range of hybrid cultivars have not yet been developed for important crops like cassava and wheat.
For the first time, a comprehensive investigation has been conducted to establish whether or not commercial plant breeders can come up with a new hybrid variation of their favourite crops. Economic considerations frequently play a role. When it comes to biology, there are certain hurdles.
Nature Plants publishes a complete study.
By merging two parent plants that complement each other perfectly, a hybrid variety can be created, according to scientific theory. Hybrids are a combination of the greatest features of both parent species.
This does need, however, that the parents be as similar genetically as possible. Using a technique known as’selfing,’ this is possible when children cross their biological parents.
Meanwhile, it is expensive and time-consuming to build robust parent lines. This necessitates a plant breeder’s confidence in a substantial financial return.
This is a significant undertaking that needs overcoming a number of hurdles. There must be a biological basis for producing homozygous parental lines. As a result, self-pollinating plants are the best choice, whereas cross-pollinating plants have a more difficult time succeeding. Even more difficult is the fact that certain crops have many chromosomes, making it practically impossible to produce inbred parent lines.. In the case of a field potato, for example, there are four sets of chromosomes containing genetic information.
