General Plant Breeding

This book deals with the various aspects of plant breeding, covering both the groups of crops—agricultural and horticultural. Explaining reproductive systems in crop plants, it discusses in detail self-incompatibility, male-sterility, plant genetic resources, genetic composition of crop plants, and breeding methods for self-pollinated as well as cross-pollinated crops. An elaborate discussion on inbreeding depression, hybrid vigour, hybrid varieties, resistance of plants to fungal diseases and pests, breeding resistant varieties, polyploidy as well as mutation in plant breeding, and distant hybridization for plant improvement also finds place in the book. It is useful for post-graduate students of agriculture and horticulture.