Plant Breeding - History

History

Plant breeding started with sedentary agriculture and particularly the domestication of the first agricultural plants, a practice which is estimated to date back 9,000 to 11,000 years. Initially early human farmers simply selected food plants with particular desirable characteristics, and used these as a seed source for subsequent generations, resulting in an accumulation of characteristics over time. In time however experiments began with deliberate hybridization, the science and understanding of which was greatly enhanced centuries later by the work of Gregor Mendel. Mendel's work ultimately led to the new science of genetics. Modern plant breeding is applied genetics, but its scientific basis is broader, covering molecular biology, cytology, systematics, physiology, pathology, entomology, chemistry, and statistics (biometrics). It has also developed its own technology.