Plant Breeding Scope, Objectives and History
Authors: Jadhav Shrinivas Shripatrao, Patil Ramanand Vankatrao, Talekar Nilesh Suryakantrao

Plant Breeding Introduction
• Plant breeding can be defined as an art, a science, and technology of improving the genetic makeup of plants in relation to their economic use for the mankind.
• Plant breeding is the art and science of improving the heredity of plants for the benefit of mankind.
• Plant breeding deals with the genetic improvement of crop plants also known as science of crop improvement.
• Science of changing and improving the heredity of plants

Objectives of Plant Breeding
• Higher yield
• Improved quality
• Abiotic resistance
• Biotic resistance
• Change in maturity Duration / Earliness
• Determinate Growth
• Dormancy
• Desirable Agronomic Characteristics
• Non-shattering characteristics
• Synchronous Maturity
• Photo and Thermo insensitivity
• Wider adaptability
• Undesirable effects :Reduction in Diversity, Narrow genetic base
• Danger of Uniformity, Undesirable combinations
• Increased susceptibility to minor diseases and pests


History and development of plant breeding
• Domestication may be the most basic method of plant breeding
• 700 BC - Babylonians and Assyrians pollinated date palm artificially
• 1717 - Thomas Fair Child - produced the first artificial hybrid, popularly known as Fair Child’s mule, by using carnation with sweet William
• 1760-1766 - Joseph koelreuter, a German, made extensive crosses in tobacco.
• 1759-1835 â€" Knight was perhaps the first man to use artificial hybridization to develop several new fruit varieties.
• 1856 - Vilmorin developed the progeny test and used this method successfully in the improvement of sugar beets.
• 1900 - Nilson-Ehle, his associates developed the individual plant selection method in Sweden.
• 1903 - Johannsen proposed the pureline theory that provided the genetic basis for individual plant selection.
• The science of genetics began with the rediscovery of Gregor Johan Mendel’s paper in 1900 by Hugo de veris, Tshermark and Correns which was originally published in 1866.
• The modern plant breeding methods have their bases in the genetic and cytogenetic principles.
• Numerous workers who determined the various modes of inheritance have contributed to the development and understanding of plant breeding.
• The discovery of chromosomes as carriers of genes has led to the development of specialized plant breeding methods for chromosome engineering.
• The totipotency of plant somatic and gametic cells allows regeneration of complete plants from single cells. This, coupled with the development of recombinant DNA technology, has enabled the transfer of desirable genes from any organism into plants.
• Crop varieties developed in this manner are already in cultivation in several countries.


History of plant breeding in India
• 1871 â€" The Government of India created the Department of Agriculture
• 1905 â€" The Imperial Agricultural Research Institute was establish in Pusa, Bihar
• 1934 â€" The buildings of the institute damaged in earthquake1936 â€" Shifted to New Delhi
• 1946 â€" Name was changed Indian Agricultural Research Institute
• 1901-05 â€" Agricultural Colleges were established at Kanpur, Pune, Sabour, Llyalpur, Coimbatore
• 1929 â€" Imperial council of Agricultural Research was established
• 1946 â€" Name was change to Indian Council Agricultural Research
• 1921 â€" Indian Central Cotton Committee was established â€" Notable researches on breeding and cultivation of cotton. Eg : 70 improved varieties of cotton
• 1956 â€" Project for intensification of regional research on cotton, oilseeds and millets (PIRRCOM) was initiated to intensify research on these crops â€" located at 17 different centres through out the country
• 1957 â€" All India Coordinated maize improvement project was started with objective of exploiting heterosis
• 1961 - The first hybrid maize varieties released by the project ICAR initiated coordinated projects for improvement of the other crops
• 1960 â€" First Agricultural University established at Pantnagar, Nainital, U.P.

Scientific contributions of eminent scientists
• Allard and Bradshaw - G x E interaction
• Recurrent Selection for SCA - Hull
• Recurrent Selection for GCA - Jenkins
• Dominance hypothesis - Davenport
• Single Seed Descent Method - Goulden
• Self incompatibility - Lewis
• Vertifolia effect - Van Der Plank
• Centres of diversity, Law of homologus series - Vavilov
• Grater initial capital hypothesis - Ashby
• Progeny test - Vilmorin
• First artificial hybrid - Thomas Fairchild
• Triticale - Rimpau
• Mutation - Hugo de Vries
• Sprophytic System of self incompatibility - Hughes and Babcock
• Bulk method - Nilsson & Ehle
• Raphano brassica - Karpenchenko
• Heterosis - Shull
• Male sterility - Jones and Davis
• Father of hybrid rice - Yuan Long Ping
• Self incompatibility classification - Lewis
• Mechanism of insect resistance - Painter
• Modified bulk method - Atkins
• Components of genetic variance classification - Fischer
• Male sterility in maize - Rhoades
• Microcentre - Harlan
• Chemical mutagen - Aurbach
• Multiline concept - Jenson
• Green revolution in India - M.S. Swaminathan
• Semidwarf rice varieties at IRRI - T.T. Chang
• Forage breeder - G.W. Burton
• Forage breeder - T.J. Jenkin
• Soyabean breeder - E.E. Hartwig

Famous Indian Scienitst and contribution in Plant breeding
• T.S. Venkatraman - An eminent sugarcane breeder, he transferred thick stem and high sugar contents from tropical noble cane to North Indian Canes. This process is known as noblization of sugarcane.
• B.P. Pal - An eminent Wheat breeder,developed superior disease resistant N.P. varieties of wheat.
• M.S. Swaminathan - Responsible for green revolution in India, developed high
• yielding varieties of Wheat and Rice
• Pushkarnath - Famous potato breeder
• N.G.P. Rao - An eminent sorghum breeder
• K. Ramaiah - A renowned rice breeder
• Ram Dhan Singh - Famous wheat breeder
• D.S. Athwal - Famous pearlmillet breeder
• Bosisen - An eminent maize breeder
• Dharampal Singh - An eminent oil-seed breeder
• C.T. Patel - Famous cotton breeder who developed world’s first cotton hybrid in 1970
• V. Santhanam - Famous cotton breeder

About Author / Additional Info:
I am Ph.D. Research Scholar in Genetics and Plant Breeding, Studding in C. P. Collage of Agriculture, Sardarkrushinagr Dantiwada Ahricultural University (Shrinivas.jadhav007@gmail.com)