How can high-quality seed be reproduced?
Friday, September 9, 2011 - 14:30
in Biology & Nature
Some wild plants show the particular characteristic of apomixis. This is a process adopted for producing seeds without fertilization or genetic recombination, giving rise to exact copies of the mother plant. This is an unusual method of reproduction and researchers are seeking to apply it to agriculturally useful plant species such as wheat or maize. Such a revolution would spare farmers the need to buy seed every year, particularly in the countries of the South.