This document provides an overview of a course on basic plant breeding techniques. The course objectives are to understand how breeders meet breeding goals, learn classical and modern breeding methods, and see examples of genetics' importance in modern breeding. Key learning outcomes are to understand plant breeding developments, basics of genetics, and breeding concepts. The document then discusses the history and milestones of plant breeding, achievements in various crops, activities in plant breeding like creation of variation and selection, and breeding objectives like increasing yield and improving quality. It also covers concepts of centers of origin and diversity first proposed by Vavilov.

1. AGR261
Basic Breeding
Techniques

2. Course Objectives
 Comprehend and be able to discuss how
breeders meet their breeding goals
 Basic knowledge on classical breeding
methods and an understanding on modern
breeding tools.
 Examples will be provided to emphasize the
importance of genetics in modern breeding
practices.

3. Learning outcomes
 understand the developments in plant
breeding and the state of the art breeding
practices
 have some knowledge on the basics of
genetics and understand their significance in
breeding
 have some understanding on the concepts of
breeding

4.  Agriculture is the deliberate planting and harvesting of
plants and herding animals. This human invention has
impact on society and the environment.
 Plant breeding is a branch of agriculture that focuses on
manipulating plant heredity to develop new and improved
plant types for use by society
 Plant Breeding is the science, art, and business of improving
plants for human benefit (Bernardo, 2002; Breeding for
Quantitative Traits in Plants)

5. Hunting and Gathering
Phase

6.  The science of plant breeding is based on
genetics and the understanding of genes and
heredity; but knowledge of other sciences
surrounding plants (i.e. Plant anatomy,
physiology, biochemistry, soil science,
pathology, and statistics) is important.

7. MILESTONES IN PLANT BREEDING
700 BC Babylonians and Assyrians artificially pollinated
the date palm
1717 Thomas Fairchild produced the first artificial
hybrid in Dianthus
1760-
1866
Joseph Kolreuter made extensive crosses in
tobacco and Solanum
(1759-
1835)
Thomas Andrew Knight (1759-1835 ) produced
several new fruit varieties by using artificial
hybridization
(1857 Vilmorin proposed individual plant selection
based on progeny testing

8. 1908 Hardy Wienberg law in population genetics
1926 Vavilov identified center of origin
1953 Norman Borlaug developed Mexican semi dwarf
wheat varieties
1956 H .H Flor developed the concept of Gene for Gene
Hypothesis
1970 C. T Patel developed 1st Cotton hybrid
1976 Yuan Long Ping developed 1st Rice hybrid
1987 Monsanto developed 1st GM crop in USA

9. YEAR History of Plant Breeding in India
1871 Organized agriculture research in India started when the Govt
created the department of agriculture
1905 Imperial Agriculture Research Institute was established in Pusa
(Bihar), 1st Agriculture Research Institute in India shifted to New
Delhi in 1936 after an earthquake
1946 The name of Imperial Agriculture Research Institute was changed to
Indian Agriculture Research Institute
1929 Imperial Council of Agriculture Research was established
1946 The name of Imperial Council of Agriculture Research was changed
to Indian Council of Agriculture Research
1921 Indian Central Cotton Committee was established
1956 Project for Intensification of Regional Research on Cotton Oilseeds
and Millets (PIRRCOM)
1957 All India Coordinated Maize Improvement Project (AICMIP)
1961 First hybrid maize under (AICMIP)
1960 First Agriculture University was established in Pantnagar, UP

10. ACHIEVEMENTS
Semi dwarf
varieties in wheat
Developed by N.E Borlaug at CIMMYT,
Source of dwarfing gene is Norin 10
(japanese var)
Semi dwarf rice
varieties
Source of dwarfing gene Dee geo woo
gen (Taiwan)
Nobilization of
Indian cane
C.A. Barber and T.S Venkataraman at
Sugarcane Breeding Inst- Coimbatore
Hybrid millets CSH1 (Sorghum), HB1 (Bajra), released
in 1964
First Hybrid
cotton
H4 in Gujrat agriculture university in
1970
2000 Sequencing of arabidopsis thaliana

11. Undesirable Consequences
Genetic Erosion Depletion in genetic variability
Narrow Genetic
Base
New varieties become similar to each
other due to common parents
Narrow genetic base cause genetic
vulnerability
Eg: Southern Leaf Blight of Maize caused
by Helminthosporium maydis
Susceptibility to
minor diseases
Emphasis is given more on breeding for
resistance to major diseases
Eg: Karnal Bunt in Wheat
Yield Plateau Variability of yield is exhausted and there is
is no further increase in yield

12. Southern leaf Blight

13. Karnal Bunt in Wheat

14.  Activities in Plant Breeding

15. Creation of variation
Selection
Evaluation
Multiplication
Distribution
Domesticatio
n
Introduction
Germplasm
Consevation
Mutation
Hybridizatio
n
Biotechnolog
y

16. Domestica
tion
Bringing wild species under human
management
Introducti
on
Taking genotypes of plant in a new
area where they have never grown
before
Plant Introduction agencies
NBPGR, New Delhi
Forest Research Institute-

17. Germplasm
 Germplasm is the sum total of the hereditary material ie
all alleles of various genes present in a crop species and
its wild relatives.

 A germplasm collection of a crop species consist of large
number of lines, varieties and related wild species of the
crop. Such collection are also called gene banks
 NBPGR New Delhi has the Indian National Gene bank and
maintains germplasm as seed banks, field banks , slow
growth cultures and cryopreserved accessions

19. Germplasm Conservation
In Situ Conservation of germplasm in its natural
habitat
Eg : Natural Parks,
Biosphere Reserve,
Sanctuaries
Ex Situ Conservation of germplasm away from natural
habitat
Seed gene banks,
Field gene banks,
Shoot tip gene banks,
Cell and organ gene banks,
DNA banks

20. Seed gene banks Germplasm are stored as
seeds
Seeds are classified into two
major groups
Orthodox: seeds can be
to a moisture content of 5%
or lower without lowering
there viability
Eg ; rice, wheat
Recalcitrant : viability of the
seeds drop if their moisture
content is reduced below 12-

21. Condition for seed storage depends on the
duration of storage
BASE COLLECTION ACTIVE
COLLECTION
WORKING
COLLECTION
Stored at -20 degree
centigrade
Stored at
temperatures below
15 degree
centigrade
Stored at
temperatures below
15 degree
centigrade
5% moisture
content
5% moisture
content
10% moisture
content
Long duration
storage
Medium duration
storage
10-15 years
Actively used in crop
improvement
programme
Stored for short
duration

22. Field Gene
Banks
Orchard/field where fruit trees or vegetative
propagated crops are grown and maintained
NBPGR, New Delhi has established field
repositories of perennial/tree species at Akola,
Bhowali, Cuttack, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Ranchi,
Shimla, Shillong, Thrissur.
Shoot tip gene
banks
Germplasm is conserved as slow growth culture of
shoot tips and nodal segments. Subculture will
lead to regeneration
Advantages:
Regeneration requires shorter time
Used for crops which produce no seeds
Free from diseases and pests
Cell and Organ
Gene Banks
Cryopreserved (stored at -196 degree centigrade)
embryonic cell cultures
DNA Banks DNA segments are maintained as cosmid clones,
phage lysates or pure DNA

23.  BREEDING OBJECTIVES

24. Increase Yield
Improvement in Quality-eg size,shape,colour
Elimination of toxic substance-BOAA in lathyrus, erucic acid in brassica
Resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses
Change in maturity duration
Improved agronomic characters
Photo insensitivity
Non-shattering nature
Synchronized maturity eg mung
Introduction of dormancy-eg mung, barley
Determinate Growth habit eg mung ,pigeonpea, cotton

25. Centre of Origin/Diversity
 The concept of centre of origin was given by Vavilov
based on his studies of a vast collection of plants at
the Institute of Plant Industry, Leningrad
 Vavilov postulated the law of homologous series in
variation which states that characters found in one
species also occur in other related species

27. Centre of Origin
Primary centres of
origin
In 1926 N.I Vavilov
proposed that crop
plants evolved from
wild species in the
areas showing
greater diversity and
termed them as
primary centres of
origin
Certain crops show

28. In 1926 Vavilov proposed 8 main centres of
origin
China
Hindustan
Central Asia
Asia minor
Mediterranean
Abyssinia
Central America
South America

29. In 1935 Vavilov proposed some changes in centre of
origin
In 1935 Vavilov divided the Hindustan Centre into centres
Indo Burma and Siam Malaya- Java Centres of origin
South American centre was divided into 3 centres – Peru,
Chile and Brazil Paraguay centres of origin
A new centre of origin the U.S.A centre of origin was also
included

30. Centre of origin Primary centre Secondary Centre
Abyssynian Barley, jowar, bajra Broad bean
Asia minor Carrot, cabbagge ,
almond
Turnip
Central America Maize, sweet potato,
guava
Rye
Central Asia Radish, mung, onion,
garlic
Maize, rajma
China Soybean, poppy
Hindustan Rice, pigeonpea,
chickpea
South America Potato
U.S.A Sunflower