Describe the methods of plant breeding.

1. 1 · Define. Plant breeding improves crops by changing their genetic make-up, for higher yield, better quality and resistance.
2. 2 · Introduction. Bringing plants from other regions: primary and secondary introduction (potato, groundnut).
3. 3 · Selection.
   • Mass selection: mixed seeds of many good plants
   • Pure line selection: offspring of one self-pollinated plant
   • Clonal selection: the best plant multiplied vegetatively (banana, sugarcane)
4. 4 · Hybridisation. Choose parents, emasculation, bagging, crossing, raise the F₁ and select.
5. 5 · Mutation breeding. Mutagens such as gamma rays give new traits: Sharbati Sonora wheat.
6. 6 · Polyploidy. Colchicine doubles the chromosomes: seedless watermelon, Triticale.
7. 7 · Link to daily life. Seedless watermelon and high-yielding rice in our markets come from these methods.
8. 8 · Close in one line. Each method adds useful genes to crops to feed a growing population.

Scoring tip: Write each method as a heading with one example. A short flow chart of the hybridisation steps adds value.