Hybrid Breeding in Vegetable Crops
摘要
Vegetables are known for their nutritional and medicinal value, and are widely cultivated to meet the food demands globally. Availability of high-quality seeds, with potential to give higher yields to the growers, is the basic necessity for profitable olericulture in all parts of the world. This chapter reviews the progress of hybrid seed development in various vegetable crops. Several factors contributing to higher herbage and fruit or seed yield are discussed including the manipulation of heterosis, hybrid vigor, and utilization of male sterility. Recurrent selection method for population improvement program which may eventually generate breeding lines with superior combining ability is also described in the chapter. Overall, this chapter emphasizes the need of manipulation of hybrid vigor to improve the economical yield in vegetable crops.