Handbook on Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS)

ICRISAT, - (2025) Handbook on Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS). Manual. ICRISAT, Hyderabad.

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Global Research Program - Accelerated Crop Improvement

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Abstract

Crop improvement or plant breeding is the art and science of changing the traits of plants to produce desired characteristics. The basic methods of crop improvement are domestication, introduction, hybridization, and selection. Plant breeding is an applied, multidisciplinary science based on the application of genetic principles and practices for the development of cultivars more suited to the needs of people. It uses knowledge from agronomy, botany, genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, physiology, pathology, entomology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and statistics (Schlegel, 2003). In the beginning, plant breeding was more of an art than science; now it is not just science, but technology too. As a science, plant breeding started soon after the rediscovery of Mendel Laws at the beginning of the 20th century. Before that, farmers had done plant improvement for several thousand years. After domesticating the crops, which give food, feed, medicines, textiles, etc., today, they have continued to modify them and move them from continent to continent, adapting them to new climates, new cultural practices, and new uses. There is evidence that hybridization also started before 1900 (Strampelli, 1944). For centuries, crop improvement was in the domain of farmers. They were responsible for creating rich crops and varietal diversity. Their selection process was unique as it involved both farmers' perspective as well as natural influences, which operated over a long period in their habitat. The varieties so evolved adapted to the specific sites resulting in increased varietal diversity. The traditional knowledge and skills of the local farmers in maintaining crop and varietal diversity also enriched over the years. One can assume that the genetic makeup of such varieties was never fixed in time and space but remained ever-changing through evolutionary forces. In that sense, plant breeding by farmers was a part of co-evolution of different biological systems that formed important component of a particular ecosystem.

Item Type:	Monograph (Manual)
Divisions:	Global Research Program - Accelerated Crop Improvement
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Series Name:	Manual
Uncontrolled Keywords:	crop improvement, millets, Participatory Varietal Selection, PVS Trials, quality seeds
Subjects:	Others > Crop Improvement Others > Plant Breeding Mandate crops > Millets
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	27 Feb 2026 04:08
Last Modified:	27 Feb 2026 04:08
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/13503
Links:	Google Scholar

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