Breeding of Vegetable, Spice and Tuber crops (2+1)

Selection of parents

• It is clear that the backcross method of breeding changes the genotype of the recurrent parent only for the gene under transfer.
• That is, only that defect of the recurrent parent, which is aimed to be corrected is removed through the backcross method.
• But some unexpected changes in one or more characters may also occur due to genes tightly linked with the gene or genes being transferred.
• Therefore, the recurrent parent must be the most popular variety of the area, which has high yielding ability, desirable quality and high adaptability. In each crop, one or two varieties dominate, and they are very popular with the cultivators.
• Such a variety may have one or two defects, e.g., susceptibility to a disease or undesirable seed size or colour.
• These defects may by removed through the back cross method.
• The non recurrent parent is selected for the character that is to be incorporated in to the recurrent parent.
• The yielding ability and other characteristics of the non recurrent parent are not important.
• The only important factor in its choice is that it must have the character to be improved in an intense form.
• The intensity of the character should preferably be more than that desired in the recurrent parent because some intensity of the character is generally lost during the transfer and in the new genetic background of the recurrent parent.