Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: CS 1 - FIRST SEM. - 2021-2022

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
Bayombong Campus

DEGREE PROGRAM BSAF 2/BSAExt 4 COURSE NO. Crop Science 1

SPECIALIZATION N/A COURSE TITLE Principles of Crop Production
YEAR LEVEL 2/4 TIME FRAME WK NO. IM NO. 06

I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Module 6 - Crop Improvement and Seed Selection

II. LESSON TITLE:

➢ Selection Method of Crop Improvement

➢ Types of Selection Method
➢ Characters of Clone

III. LESSON OVERVIEW:

The student will state the different crop improvement and seed selection

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the topic the students are expected to state the different crop improvement and
practice the proper seed selection.

V. LESSON CONTENT

Selection Method for Crop Improvement:

It is the simplest and oldest breeding method. It is also called as German method or German
method of broad breeding because once it was used nicely in Germany for improving the sugar beets
and small grains such as rye and wheat.

It can be defined as preservation of certain individual plants of desirable characters. In simplest

form selection means choosing plants of one’s choice. It is the basis of all crop improvement. Even
today it is most common method of crop improvement among the cultivators.

Types of Selection Method:

1. Natural Selection:

This is a natural process. It operates in the nature without human interference. According to the
Darwin’s principle “Survival of the fittest” plants which survive through the adversities of nature are
preferred and the weaker ones are wiped out. Thus, nature itself selects the fittest organisms.

2. Artificial Selection:

It can be defined as to choose certain individual plants for the purpose of having better crop from
a mixed population where the individuals differ in characters. Here the selecting agent is man. Man
exploits the variations existing among the species. He picks of a few plants of better qualities from
mixed populations and tries to propagate them.

There are 4 methods of artificial selection:

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: CS 1 - FIRST SEM. - 2021-2022

(i) Mass selection

(ii) Progeny selection
(iii) Pure line selection and
(iv) Clonal selection

(i) Mass Selection:

It can be defined as selection of a number of phenotypically superior plants heads or seeds from
the field population, harvesting and bulking their produce together for sowing the next year’s crop and
repeating this process till desired characters are achieved.

This is the simplest and oldest method of crop improvement practiced by farmers. Mass selection
is based on phenotype (external characters) and the harvested seeds are composited without progeny
testing.

It cannot bring any new change in the genotype. It can be practiced in both self-pollinated and
cross-pollinated crops. In cross pollinated crops it is usually practiced for population improvement
purposes, whereas in self pollinated crops it has only a limited use of maintaining purity of a variety.

Procedure:

Most vigorous plants from the mixed population of a crop are selected. These plants are thrashed
together and a mixture of seeds is obtained. This mixture of seeds is a mass, and, therefore, it is known
as mass selection.

The mixture so obtained is sown for raising the new crop from which selection is made similarly
in the next year. This process of selection is continued till the plants show uniformity in the desired
characters and they constitute a new variety.

A general procedure for developing a new variety by mass selection is as follows:

Merits:
(A) It is more of an art than a science because it needs no scientific knowledge.
(B) Simplest, easiest and quickest method of crop improvement. _
(C) Pollination need not to be controlled to provide a new variety.
(D) To meet the need of the farmers, it is the only method for improving the local or wild varieties.

Demerits:
(A) Importance is given to phenotypic characters only.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: CS 1 - FIRST SEM. - 2021-2022

(B) There is no control over pollination, which causes greater heterozygosity and as a result the
desirable qualities gradually diminish.
(C) It is not possible to increase the yield because:
(a) Importance is given to material characters only.
(b) Environmental effects cannot be separated out.
(c) Pollination may be both by superior and inferior pollens.
(D) This method of crop improvement is not applicable to self-pollinated crops (due to less amount
of heterozygosity).
(E) In cross pollinated crops variety produced is heterozygous i.e., mixture of different genotypes.

(ii) Progeny Selection:

Progeny selection is commonly used in cross-pollinated and often cross-pollinated crops.

Progeny (offspring) can be defined as new individual organisms that results from the process of sexual
or asexual reproduction.

Progeny selection is the selection procedure in which superior plants are selected from a
heterogeneous population on the basis of performance of their progenies. In other words, primary
selection refers to selection of plants from a diverse population on the basis of their progeny test.

The test of genotypic value of an individual based on the basis of performance of its progeny is
called progeny test. The test evaluates the breeding value of a singe plant by the performance of its
progeny. In 1856, a French man Louis Leveaue de Vilmorin utilized the progeny test to increase the
sugar content in the wild sugar beet, hence it is also known as Vilmorin principle.

Procedure:

Progeny selection is done in various ways but the simple method is ear-to-row method. This
method was developed by Hopkins (1908) and is extensively used in maize.

Merits:
(i) This method is very simple and convenient.
(ii) In the identification of superior genotypes, this method is more effective than mass selection
because it is based on progeny test and not on the phenotypes of the individual plant.
(iii) Inbreeding may be avoided if sufficiently large number and diverse progenies are
selected.

Demerits:
(i) There is no control over pollination. Plants are allowed to open pollinate.
(ii) Certain methods of progeny selection are complicated.
(iii) If the progeny of each plant is tested in isolation, it would require lot of area which is not
practically possible.

(iii) Pure Line Selection:

It can be defined as the process of isolating a desirable homozygous individual from the mixed
population and multiplying the same without contamination to release as a new variety.

The method of pure line selection has been developed from the classical work of W.L. Johanssen
(1903), a Danish botanist, and is commonly used to improve the self- pollinated crops.

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: CS 1 - FIRST SEM. - 2021-2022

He worked on the Princess Variety of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and put forwarded pure-line
theory. He first of all suggested the term pure line and defined it as the descendants of a single self-
fertilized organism of homogeneous factorial composition.

Later on many authors defined the term pure line and some of the important definitions given
are:
• Progeny of a single individual obtained by selfing is called a pure line.
• Sinnot, Dunn and Dobzhansky (1950)
• A pure line is an inbred homogenic strain. Darlington and Mater (1952)
• A strain of an organism that is pure genetically (homozygous) because of continued breeding
through other means. Hayes, Immer and Smith (1955)
• A strain in which all members have descended by self-fertilization from a single homozygous
individual. Poehlman (1959)

Simply pure line can be defined as:

• A group of plants all obtained from a single self-fertilized homozygous plant.

• A strain made up of the progeny of a single self-fertilized homozygous individual. Johanssen
(1903) isolated 19 different lines on the basis of seeds weight (large and small seeds) from the
original seeds of Princess variety and planted them separately (Beans are self-fertilized; the
seeds in the original lot were homozygous, for genes affecting seed weight. Selection within the
original mixed lot of beans was effective in isolating lines that were genetically different).
• Seeds obtained from these plants were analyzed for size and weight. He found that seeds
obtained from each plant varied in size and weight but on average the large seeds parents
produced progeny with heavier seeds and the smaller seed parents give rise to plants with
smaller and lighter seeds. He observed that a pure line produced beans averaging 0.64 g in
weight.
• Another pure line produced beans averaging 0.35 g in weight. The average seed weights of
progenies of beans selected from Pure Line No. 1 were similar to those of the parent line.
Likewise, progenies of seeds selected from Pure Line No. 19 were similar to their parent line in
average seed weight.

On the basis of his experiments he concluded that:

i. Selection within the original lot of beans was effective because the plants have genetic variation.
ii. Continuous breeding leads to homozygosity.
iii. Variations in the pure line results from environmental factors only.
iv. Selection within a pure line is not effective because all the plants in a pure line have exactly the
same genotype.

Procedure:

Generally a period of 10 to 11 years is required to produce a variety by pure line selection in

cross pollinated crop.

It is as follows:

Merits:
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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: CS 1 - FIRST SEM. - 2021-2022

1. This is the only method to improve the local varieties of self-pollinated crops. Best genotype for
yield, disease resistance, insect resistance, earliness, quality etc. can be isolated from a
heterogeneous or mixed population of an old variety.
2. This method is easier than hybridization (emasculation and crossing over)
3. The variety developed by this method is extremely in appearance and performance and,
therefore, are more attractive.
4. This method is also used both in self and cross-pollinated crops for production of pure lines and
inbreeds.

Demerits:
1. It is very lengthy and laborious process.
2. This method is applicable to self-pollinated crops. It cannot be used for development of varieties
in cross-pollinated crops.
3. This method can isolate only superior genotypes from the mixed population. It cannot develop
new genotypes.
4. Extremely homozygosity may result in low yield and other undesirable characters.
5. Due to high degree of homozygosity, variations among the varieties are also limited. Therefore,
their adaptability to varied environmental condition is also poor.

(iv) Clonal Selection:

A variety that is propagated vegetative from a single plant is called clone or progeny of a single
plant obtained by asexual reproduction is known as clone or all the vegetative progenies of a single
plant are called a clone.

A clone may be defined as a group of individuals of like genotypic composition traceable through
asexual reproduction to a single ancestral zygote. Selection of desirable clones from the mixed
population of vegetative propagated crops is known as clonal selection.

Clonal selection is the selection and propagation of the desirable variations between the clones
as well as within a clone. Clonal selection generally may be practiced with non-flowering or those
species which produce seeds poorly or only under special conditions.

Generally, these species are divided into four categories. These are:

(i) Nonflowering species:

• Garlic, ginger, betel etc.

(ii) Low seed setting species:

• Sugarcane, potato, sweet potato etc.

(iii)Normal flowering and seed setting species:

• Citrus, mango, pear, peach apple, litchi, loquat and many ornamental plants (to maintain the
heterozygous balance vegetative reproduction is essential).

(iv)Apomictic species:

• Agave, Onion, Lilium, Allium, Jasminum, Roses, Bryophyllum etc. (no seeds produced when
apomixis occurs).

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may be reproduced for educational purpose only and not for commercial distribution”
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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: CS 1 - FIRST SEM. - 2021-2022

Characters of Clone:
(i) All the individuals of a clone are genotypically and phenotypically identical.
(ii) Genetically, all the members of a clone are homogeneous and heterozygous.
(iii) Clones are as stable as pure lines.
(iv) A clone is also multiplied vegetatively in future generation.
(v) Mutations is the only means of creating variability.

Procedure:

• Selection of clones is done from mixed population of vegetatively propagated crop. However,
the unit of selection differs from crop to crop.

Stem Cutting:

• Sugarcane, betel vine, black pepper, fodder grasses, some ornamental and hedge plants.

Grafts and buds:

• Mango, citrus, apple, many fruit trees, rose, and many ornamental plants.

Tuber:

• Potato.

Suckers:

• Banana, Pine-apple, aloe, agave, Chrysanthemum.

Bulbs:

• Onion, Garlic, tulip, lilies.

Runners:

• Oxalis, Doob grass.

Stolons:

• Mint, Mentha etc.

Rhizomes and Corms:

• Ginger, Canna, Turmeric, Colocasia, etc.

Root and root cuttings:

• Sweet potato, Dahlia, Asparagus, mango ginger etc.

Merits:
i. It is the only method to improve the clonal crops.
ii. It offers an opportunity to exploit desirable mutations in somatic parts of plants.
iii. It also helps to eliminate unproductive and undesirable types.
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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: CS 1 - FIRST SEM. - 2021-2022

iv. This method is helpful in conserving hybrid vigour for several generations.
v. Varieties are as stable as pure lines and easy to maintain because there is no danger of
deterioration due to segregation and recombination.

Demerits:
(i) In this method no new genetic variability can be created.
(ii) This method is applicable only to vegetatively propagated crops.

Related Articles:
1. Introduction and Selection | Methods | Plant Breeding | Botany
2. Crop Improvement Methods: Top 6 Methods

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Alfred, E. 2013. Recent Advances in Industrial Biotechnology. Random Exports. New Delhi, India.

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Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
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