Explain the various methods of crop improvement. Name one improved variety of Rice, Maize, Soybean, Sunflower and Mustard.

Crop variety improvement is the manipulation of crop plants for increasing their yield and improving quality. Various approaches which are used for genetic improvement of crop plants are referred as plant breeding methods. These involve three processes:

(i) Introduction - This refers to the transportation of crop plants from the place of cultivation to the place where grown earlier.

(ii) Selection - This process involves the selection of most desirable offspring of a variety of plant for controlled propagation.

(iii) Hybridisation - It involves the crossing between genetically dissimilar plants to produce a new kind with better qualities. Crossing may be between two different varieties (intervarietal cross - breeding) or between the two different species of the same genus (inter specific cross - breeding) and between different genera (intergeneric crossbreeding).

Crop Improved Variety

Rice IR8

Maize Ganga 5

Soybean PK 262

Sunflower BSH 1

Mustard Pusa Bold

The above listed varieties of crops are mostly hybrid forms and have a very high yield.