P. M. Priyadarshan PLANT BREEDING: Classical to Modern PLANT BREEDING: Classical to Modern P. M. Priyadarshan PLANT BREEDING: Classical to Modern P. M. Priyadarshan Erstwhile Deputy Director Rubber Research Institute of India Kottayam, Kerala, India ISBN 978-981-13-7094-6 ISBN 978-981-13-7095-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7095-3 # Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. 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The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore This book is dedicated to Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug (1914–2009) who, as a plant breeder, strived benevolently to eradicate hunger and poverty. Foreword Plant breeding is an art and a science. It is an art for selecting suitable phenotype from variable plant populations. Primitive plant breeders started selecting crop varieties from the variable wild and semiwild populations. The selection was based on the judgement and keen eyes of plant breeders. Diverse crop varieties were selected for 10, 000 years on the basis of empirical observations. The scientific basis of plant breeding started after the rediscovery of Mendel’s laws of inheritance during the beginning of the last century. These laws elucidated the mechanism of segregation and recombination. Through hybridization, multiple genotypes were produced, and desired phenotypes were selected. Numerous improved varieties were developed on scientific basis during the last century. Many plant breeders advanced world agriculture through the development of new crop varieties. Foremost, among them was Dr. Norman Borlaug who received Nobel Peace Prize for developing high-yielding varieties of wheat. Similarly, high-yielding varieties of rice developed at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) had a comparable impact on food production and poverty elimination. The present world population of 7.5 billion is likely to reach 9 billion by 2050. This will require 50% more food. This additional food must be produced under constraints of less land, less water and more importantly under changing climate. Thus, we need environmentally resilient varieties, with higher productivity and better nutrition. Fortunately, breakthroughs in cellular and molecular biology have provided new techniques for crop improvement which will help us meet the challenges of feeding nine billion people. I am happy Dr. Priyadarshan has taken the initiative to prepare this text, Plant Breeding: Classical to Modern. As the title suggests, it discusses the conventional methods of plant breeding as well as the application of advanced techniques. It has 25 chapters arranged into 5 parts. It starts with a general introduction followed by plant development aspects, such as modes of crop reproduction and breeding systems. The next part has an excellent discussion of breeding methods. Specialized breeding methods, such as hybrid breeding, mutation breeding, polyploid breeding and distant hybridization, are in the fourth part. The final part has an excellent discussion of advanced techniques of plant breeding, such as tissue culture, genetic engineering, molecular breeding and application of genomics. vii viii Foreword I wish to congratulate Dr. Priyadarshan for his labour of love in assembling voluminous information in this book. It will be useful for teachers and students of plant breeding alike. Davis, CA, USA Gurdev S. Khush Preface Plant breeding is the science that derives new crop varieties to farmers. Based on the principles of genetics, as laid down classically by Gregor Johann Mendel during 1866, which were “rediscovered” in 1900 by Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns and Erich von Tschermak, this science has taken the world forward through firmly addressing hunger, famine and catastrophe. Plant breeding began when agriculture commenced centuries back, but the real science of plant breeding took shape when Mendel’s principles of genetics came to light during 1900. The year 2015 commemorated 150 years of Mendelian principles. No nation thrives without agriculture, and plant breeding is the integral part of that science. The researchers of Tel Aviv, Harvard, Bar-llan and Haifa Universities say that agriculture began some 23,000 years ago. If this is true, plant breeding also commenced by then, since farmers must have surely nurtured best cultivars. Centuries of breeding programmes finally culminated in Sonora 64 (wheat) and IR 8 (rice) in the 1960s. While Dr. Norman E. Borlaug of CIMMYT exploited Norin 10 genes to derive semidwarf wheat, in rice, the crosses between Peta (Indonesia) and Dee-geo-woo-gen (DGWG, China) produced IR 8. Peter Jenning, Henry Beachell and Surajit Kumar De Datta of IRRI spearheaded this. This saga continues worldwide in producing thousands of varieties in all edible crops. The explosive advancements in modern plant breeding enrich traditional breeding practices accomplished through inculcating various “omics”, advanced computing and informatics, ending with robotics. The application of systems biology for genetic fine-tuning of crops meant for varied environments is the emerging new science that will soon assist plant breeding. The aim of this book is to narrate both conventional and modern approaches of plant breeding. Principles of Plant Breeding by R.W. Allard is a classic. However, referring this requires prior knowledge of the basics of plant breeding. This book is authored with the view to assist BS and MS students. The TOC is set to address both conventional and modern means of plant breeding like history, objective, centres of origin, plant introduction, reproduction, incompat- ibility, sterility, biometrics, selection, hybridization, breeding both self- and cross- pollinated crops, heterosis, induced mutations and polyploidy, distant hybridization, resistance breeding, breeding for resistance to stresses, GE interactions, tissue culture, genetic engineering, molecular breeding and genomics. The book extends ix x Preface to 25 chapters dealing the subject in a comprehensive and perspective manner, and care has been taken to include almost all topics as required under the curricula of MS course being taught worldwide. Striking a balancing chord between narrating fundamentals and inclusion of the latest advancements is an arduous task. I have strived my best to pay justice. Earnest efforts were incurred to correct “typos”/errors and possible misstatements. I owe full responsibility for any remaining errors and pledge to correct them in future editions. Special thanks to my wife, Mrs. Bindu, and my children, Vineeth and Sandra, for extending their unflinching support and warm counsel. The long cherished dream of authoring a book on plant breeding for students is fulfilled now. This first edition will further be revised during the years to come. I would appreciate receiving the invaluable comments from the readers, by which I can improve further editions. Finally, hearty thanks to Springer for publishing this book. Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India P. M. Priyadarshan Acknowledgements The guidance and suggestions rendered by my teacher, Prof. P.K Gupta, Professor Emeritus, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, India, is gratefully acknowl- edged. He has been my guide and mentor for all these years. I place on record a sincere thanks to Prof. M.S. Kang, adjunct professor, Kansas State University, USA, for reviewing the chapter on GE interactions. Dr. K. Kalyanaraman, adjunct faculty, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India, reviewed the chapter on Basic Statistics. I am extremely indebted to him. Karen A. Williams, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, and Joseph Foster, Director, Plant Germplasm Quarantine Program, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, gave some details of germplasm conservation and utiliza- tion. Their help is duly acknowledged. Dr. Amelia Henry, Dr. Kshirod Jena and Dr. Arvind Kumar of the International Rice Research Institute, Manila, Philippines, gave me details of drought-tolerant rice varieties. I am extremely thankful to them. Dr. Ravi Singh, Head of bread wheat improvement, CIMMYT, and Dr. B.P.M. Prasanna, Director, CIMMYT’s Global Maize Programme, Nairobi, Kenya, gave me details of drought tolerance in wheat and maize, respectively. My sincere thanks