Читать книгу Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding - George Acquaah - Страница 71

Artificial pollination, the deliberate transfer by humans of pollen from the flower (anther) of one plant to the flower (stigma) of another plant is an ancient practice, as previously noted. Babylonians and Assyrians were known to have conducted it on date palms. These ancient cultures did this without the benefit of the knowledge of the underlying science of pollination and fertilization. These ancient efforts were not geared toward creating variation; they were primarily for fertilization for fruit production. Science‐based artificial pollination started after the discovery of sex in plants by Camerarius and the ensuing work of Koelreuter. Artificial pollination (controlled pollination) is used in a variety of ways in modern plant breeding. Naturally cross‐pollinating species can be artificially self‐pollinated to create variability for selection, or to generate special parental breeding stock for experimentation or development of new cultivars. Experiments in heredity (e.g. Mendel's) depend on controlled pollination. These applications are discussed in detail elsewhere in this book.