Plant breeding is concerned with the production of improved varieties of plants by the development of superior genotypes. The nature of the improvements that are sought will not in general depend on genetical considerations, though in some circumstances it may be influenced by them. Rather it will depend on such things as the requirements, preferences or even idiosyncrasies of the consumer, on economic considerations and on the agronomic needs and practices of the grower. Alternative ways of meeting these requirements must be considered alongside the approach through plant breeding. All these must be taken into account by the plant breeder in setting his targets, which must pay due regard to feasibility and also have a sufficient element of prediction, or prophecy, in them to allow for the necessary lapse of time between setting up the breeding programme and having the finished variety ready for the market. Having set his targets, the breeder must ask how he can best proceed towards achieving them ; which features of the plant’s physiology offer him the best prospect of raising its production under the various circumstances in which it is likely to be grown; how he can secure the best distribution of assimilates to the economically important part of the plant as opposed to parts not so economically utilizable; how losses arising from the depredation of pests and diseases can be minimized, and so on. The targets must, in fact, be expressed in terms of more detailed definable characters that the breeder will seek to adjust, and which can be followed relatively easily in single individuals, or small families, as a basis for effective comparison and hence meaningful selection. In this the breeder must seek the cooperation of physiologist and pathologist, and also, because of changing practices of agriculture, of agronomist and agricultural engineer
Legal protection of plant biotechnological inventions
