Introduction

• The mating or crossing of two plants or lines of dissimilar genotype is known as hybridization.
• In plants, crossing is done by placing pollen grains from one genotype, the male parent, on to the stigma of flowers of the other genotype, the female parent.
• The seeds as well as the progeny resulting from the hybridization are known as hybrid or F1.
• The progeny of F1, obtained by selfing or intermating of F1 plants, and the subsequent generations are termed as segregating generations.
• The term cross is often used to denote the products of hybridization, i.e. the F1 as well as the segregating generations.

Objectives of hybridization

• To create genetic variability
• To bring together desired qualitative characters found in different plants or plant lines into one plant or plant line i.e. to transfer desired character/s from other varieties to the considered one.
• To make F1 useful as hybrid variety
• Improvement of one or more quantitative characters