Question

Identify selection method which involves many cycle of selection and breeding towards the improvement of multi traits. ______________

• A. Family selection
• B. Independent culling
• C. Recurrent selection
• D. Both 1 and 3

Hint:

Recurrent = "Repeating." It is the "compound interest" of plant breeding—small gains in every cycle add up to huge improvements over time.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for a specific breeding strategy designed for long-term improvement by repeatedly selecting and interbreeding superior individuals over multiple generations.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

• Definition of Recurrent Selection: Recurrent selection is a cyclical breeding procedure where superior individuals are selected from a population, interbred, and the resulting offspring are used as the base for the next round of selection.

• Objectives: Its primary goal is to increase the frequency of desirable alleles for multiple traits while maintaining genetic diversity within the population for long-term progress.

• Comparison with other methods:
- Family selection: Selection is done based on the performance of the whole family, but it doesn't necessarily imply the repeated cycles of interbreeding that define "recurrent" selection.
- Independent culling: A method for improving multi-traits where an individual must meet a minimum standard for *every* trait to be selected; but it is a selection *criteria*, not a breeding *cycle*.

• Foresters' Application: Recurrent selection is the standard "engine" of advanced forest tree improvement programs, ensuring that the genetic gain increases with every new generation of the breeding population.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Recurrent selection is the method characterized by multiple cycles of selection and breeding for multi-trait improvement.