Breeding of Fruit and Plantation Crops

Clonal selection

• A clone is a group of plants produced from a single plant through asexual reproduction. All the members of a clone have the same genotype as the parent plant as a result, they are identical with each other in genotype. Clones are maintained by asexual reproduction.

Merits of clonal selection

• It is the only method of selection applicable to clonal crops. It avoids inbreeding depression, and preserves the gene combinations present in the clones.
• Clonal selection, without any substantial modification, can be combined with hybridization to generate the variability necessary for selection.
• The selection scheme is useful in maintaining the purity of clones.

Demerits of clonal selection

• This selection method utilizes the natural variability already present in the population.
• Sexual reproduction is a prerequisite for the creation of variability through hybridization.