What is Artificial selection?
- The process of breeding based on the desirable characters selected by humans is called
Artificial selection, also called Selective breeding.
- It allows the selected traits to be passed through successive
- It is man-made modifications which have been carried out in plants for
For example, crossbreeding and hybridization gives a mix of a red and white rose, a tall tree with more leaves or a short shrub with fruits.
Artificial selection
How does artificial selection work?
Crossbreeding
- Crossbreeding of rose plants is carried out to get desired
- One plant is small in size and produces very few flowers and another is of a bigger size and tends to produce more If crossbreeding is carried out, there are chances that the resultant offspring may produce more flowers and will be of a smaller size.
- The chances of such an exact combination are less. Constantly mixing the offspring with more desirable qualities and less undesirable ones will lead to a perfect specimen with time.
- Hunting also is a method of artificial
For example, a sea contains a species of fish which are quite large in size and are harmful to the ecosystem. Selective killing and preventing them from breeding will lead to diminishing numbers of this particular species. Their absence would also allow the smaller species to grow and multiply. Thus, the smaller species would now be able to lead a safe existence.
- Human intervention cannot control the specific combination of a set of genes but they achieve a mixture of more desirable characteristics in an