Q.Read the below given statement and answer the given questions.
"A breeder is interested in crossing different species of plants to combine desirable characters to produce commercially superior varieties".

Combining desirable traits from different parents into one superior variety is achieved by deliberate cross-breeding, which runs through a fixed sequence of breeding steps. …

a) Major approach (1 mark)

To combine desirable characters from different varieties/species into a commercially superior variety, the breeder should use plant breeding by hybridisation (conventional cross-breeding) — a purposeful manipulation of plant species to create desired plant types better suited for cultivation.

b) Techniques / steps in the breeding process (4 marks)

1. Collection of variability (germplasm collection): The entire collection (of plants/seeds) having all the diverse alleles for all genes of a crop is collected and preserved. This genetic variability is the raw material for breeding.

2. Evaluation and selection of parents: The germplasm is evaluated to identify plants with the desirable combination of characters (e.g. high yield, disease resistance). The chosen plants are multiplied and used as parents in hybridisation.

3. Cross-hybridisation among selected parents: The desired characters are often present in two different parents. They are combined by cross-pollinating (hybridising) the two selected parents to produce hybrids that ideally carry both desired traits. This is a slow and tedious step, as many crosses may be needed and only a few will combine the desired characters. …