CROP IMPROVEMENT notes for olevel

CROP IMPROVEMENT

Crop improvement refers tom the processes carried out to upgrade the genetic potential and performance of the crop. It involves selection and breeding of crops in order to produce better and improved varieties, which can satisfy people's needs.

REASONS FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT

1. To develop better quality crops in terms of taste , shape, colour, nutritive value etc.
2. To increase the yields of crops.
3. To produce quick maturing varieties.
4. To obtain varieties that are tolerant to adverse environmental conditions, such as drought, extreme coldness, pests and diseases.
5. To produce crop products that can be stored relatively for a long period, eg., vegetables, flowers etc.

METHODS OF CROP IMPOVEMENT

1. Introduction : Some crop varieties with desired qualities are brought into an area from other areas. It is used in the initial stages of crop improvement and is only possible if the environmental conditions are similar to those of their original area.
2. Selection : This the practice of choosing among crops of the same type only those that exhibit the prefered qualities. When many varieties of acrop such as beans are introduced, not all of them do perform equally well. Therefore, only those varieties with preferred qualities are selected and the others discarded.
3. Breeding / Hybridization: Breeding goes hand in hand with selection. The varieties that are seclected from those introduced are crossbred to p;roduce new varities that are beter than the original ones.

Hybridization is the method of crop impovement where two or more plants of unlike genetic makeup are crossed to produce a new crop variety or hybrid. The main purpose of hybridization is to create variation in the population of the plant by bringing in new combinations of genes present in the parent stock.