Resistance

Disease resistance is a very desirable quality when it comes to the breeding of various plant species. Pests and diseases can drastically affect plants and crops that are used for consumption and commercial purposes, and it is important for people in the industry to develop ways for protection against disease. In fact, plant disease resistance is essential to the reliable production of food, and it has also shown significant benefits such as reductions in the agricultural use of land, water, fuel, and even agrochemicals.

In the past, there have been numerous examples of the impacts of devastating plant disease, such as in the case of the Irish Potato Famine, in which Ireland was plunged disease, and emigration into a period of mass starvation, human disease, and eventual emigration because of potato blight, a disease that can destroy entire crops.

Plant breeders are always on the lookout for ways to improve the selection and development of disease-resistant plant lines. Plant varieties with genetically determined disease resistance are often the first choice for the control of disease. Breeding for disease resistance in plants has been undertaken ever since plant species were first domesticated, but this practice requires continual effort. Pathogen populations are typically under natural selection for increasing their virulence, and this is why plant breeders should always find ways to reinforce the resistance of plants. New pathogens might also be introduced to an area and new cultivation methods can be favorable for the occurrence of disease in plants over time.

Crossbreeding a desirable yet disease-susceptible plant variety to another (more robust) variety is a common practice, as well as the selection of disease-resistant individuals from a certain area.

This category contains scientific information on disease resistance, a very desirable quality when it comes to the breeding of various plant species.