Breeding of Fruit and Plantation Crops

Exploitation of apomixes in crop improvement

• For exploiting the apomixes in sexual crops, the apomictic phenomenon occurring spontaneously in any plant needs to be detected or identified.


• The artificial incorporation could be perhaps through hybridization between apomixes and amphimicts.

Detection of apomixis

• Positive evidence for the presence or absence of apomixis are obtained only from an intensive screening of a large number of plant varieties / hybrids.


• The screening involves a careful and systematic tracing of steps for the development of embryosac and embryo, through microtomy of ovule, right from megaspores to embryonic development.


• Therefore, it is the most tedious job requiring patience and persistence. It should however, be noted that it is only the recurrent apomixis, namely diploid forms of apospory/parthenogenesis/apogamy/adventitive embryony and the vegetative propagation which are beneficial for plant breeding purposes.


• The simple reason being that it is these diploid forms, which produce viable diploids without fertilization and thus can continue to perpetuate truly over generations. Non-recurrent apomixes are of academic importance only.