|The Parts of Plant Breeding|
Plants reproduce in two ways: a. Asexually and b. Sexually. Asexual reproduction occurs when a part of the plant is separated from the parent plant and develops into a complete plant. It can be brought about artificially by means of leaf cuttings, stem cuttings, root cuttings, etc. Plants that originate from asexual reproduction are usually identical to the parent plant. Sexual reproduction involves the union of a male and a female germ cell. The plants originating from sexual reproduction are often quite different from their parents and from each other. Because of this possibility for variation, sexual reproduction of plants is the method used by plant breeders in developing new strains and varieties.
A perfect flower contains both stamens and a pistil. The Parts of flower shown here, these are Petal, Sepal, Ovule, Pistil (Stigma Style, Ovary), Stamen (Anther, Filament) used for breeding. An imperfect flower contains only one type of sex organ. A composite flower is actually a cluster of small flowers. This type of flower can be made up of only disc florets or of a combination of disc and ray florets.
There are two kinds of pollination a. Cross-pollination andb. Self- pollination. In cross-pollination the pollen is transferred from the anther of a flower of one plant to the stigma of a flower of another plant. In self-pollination the pollen is transferred from the anther to the stigma of the same flower or to another flower of the same plant. Fertilization is the uniting of two germ cells. After the pollen has come to rest on the stigma, under favorable conditions the pollen develops a tube which grows downward through the style and into the ovule. It is in the ovule that the male and female germ cells unite. Once fertilization has occurred development of the ovule begins. The result is a seed.
Steps of major activities of plant breeding are following: