Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Inbreeding depression is the loss of vigor and fertility that occurs when naturally cross-pollinated species are forced to self-pollinate.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- Lettuce and pea are highly self-pollinated crops and do not exhibit inbreeding depression.
- Spine gourd is dioecious, meaning selfing is not naturally possible without advanced genetic manipulation.
- Carrot (Daucus carota) is a highly cross-pollinated crop due to its protandrous nature (pollen is shed before the stigma becomes receptive).
When carrot is subjected to forced selfing, it exhibits severe inbreeding depression, resulting in reduced root size, loss of vigor, and low seed yield.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Therefore, Carrot shows very high inbreeding depression on selfing.