MP Board · Class 9 · Science · Improvement in Food ResourcesDefine hybridization in crop plant improvement and briefly explain its three types based on taxonomic relationships.

Hybridization is the process of cross-breeding two genetically diverse plants having desirable traits to produce an offspring (hybrid) with combined superior characteristics like higher yield, disease resistance, and environmental tolerance. Based on taxonomic relationships between the parent plants, hybridization is classified into three main types:

1. Intervarietal hybridization: Crossing between two different varieties of the same species.
2. Interspecific hybridization: Crossing between two different species belonging to the same genus.
3. Intergeneric hybridization: Crossing between two different genera belonging to the same plant family.