Indian Society of Genetics & Plant Breeding
THE existence of heterosis or hybrid vigour in plants and ~nimals is
well known and the phenomenon ha.s been exploited by horticulturists
and stock breeders from quite a. long .time. The success of plant breeding
in vegetatively-reproduced crop plantc.; must be attributed in a large measure
to the utilization of hybrid vigour which can be maintained indefinitely
unless incidence of diseases affects the plant. Even in plants reproduced
from seeds, the principle of hybrid vigour is being exploited in maize, and
in solanaceous plants like tomato, brinjal, etc., by growing the first-generation hybrids on a commercial scale. The problem of hybrid vigour has
been studied extensively in several plants including wheat, oats, rye,
sorghum, tobacco, brassica, maize, etc., and t~e~eneral experience is that
the vigour manifested in the first generatio11'"1if'Y'brid falls and practically
disappears in the later generations.
Year: 1941
Volume: 1
Issue:
Article DOI: NA
Print ISSN: 0019-5200
Online ISSN: 0975-6906
K . RAMIAH AND K. RAMASAMY info_circle
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