Plant Breeding: Conventional Methods — Crop Science Reviewer Questions
250 board-style Plant Breeding: Conventional Methods items for the Agriculturist Licensure Examination, free and open to every examinee. Biotechnology and current-news items reward recognition rather than derivation. Work them in short, frequent sittings and keep the longer sessions for physiology.
250 questions in this topic · part of Crop Science · every answer explained
Practise Plant Breeding: Conventional Methods free
Sample Plant Breeding: Conventional Methods questions with answers and explanations
Board-style items taken from the Crop Science bank. Every answer is explained, which is the part that makes a review question worth doing twice.
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A breeding team in Nueva Ecija plans to improve irrigated rice. Its stated objective is high grain yield under recommended inputs. Which evaluation plan best matches that objective?
- A. release the line after one favorable-season observation
- B. multi-location yield trials with standard management correct
- C. choose the earliest germinating seed lot without field testing
- D. select only the tallest plants in a single nursery
Why: Yield must be demonstrated across representative environments, not inferred from plant height alone.
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A breeding team in Isabela plans to improve yellow corn. Its stated objective is stable yield during intermittent drought. Which evaluation plan best matches that objective?
- A. choose the earliest germinating seed lot without field testing
- B. test candidate lines under managed drought and normal-water environments correct
- C. select only the tallest plants in a single nursery
- D. release the line after one favorable-season observation
Why: Evaluating both stress and non-stress sites identifies drought tolerance without sacrificing general adaptation.
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A breeding team in Benguet plans to improve highland potato. Its stated objective is late-blight resistance with marketable tuber quality. Which evaluation plan best matches that objective?
- A. release the line after one favorable-season observation
- B. select only the tallest plants in a single nursery
- C. choose the earliest germinating seed lot without field testing
- D. screen resistance and tuber quality together across seasons correct
Why: A cultivar must combine resistance with acceptable product quality before release.
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A breeding team in Bukidnon plans to improve white corn. Its stated objective is downy-mildew resistance and farmer-preferred grain type. Which evaluation plan best matches that objective?
- A. use resistant donors then backcross and evaluate grain quality correct
- B. select only the tallest plants in a single nursery
- C. release the line after one favorable-season observation
- D. choose the earliest germinating seed lot without field testing
Why: Backcrossing can introduce a specific resistance gene while recovering the preferred recurrent-parent type.
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A breeding team in Iloilo plans to improve rainfed rice. Its stated objective is early maturity before terminal drought. Which evaluation plan best matches that objective?
- A. choose the earliest germinating seed lot without field testing
- B. select only the tallest plants in a single nursery
- C. release the line after one favorable-season observation
- D. select lines that flower and mature earlier under rainfed trials correct
Why: Early maturity reduces field exposure to late-season water shortage.
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A breeding team in Quezon plans to improve coconut. Its stated objective is higher nut yield without excessive height. Which evaluation plan best matches that objective?
- A. release the line after one favorable-season observation
- B. select only the tallest plants in a single nursery
- C. evaluate yield, crown traits, and height over several years correct
- D. choose the earliest germinating seed lot without field testing
Why: Perennial-crop improvement requires simultaneous assessment of yield and harvest-related architecture.
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A breeding team in Davao plans to improve cacao. Its stated objective is Phytophthora pod-rot resistance and bean quality. Which evaluation plan best matches that objective?
- A. choose the earliest germinating seed lot without field testing
- B. select only the tallest plants in a single nursery
- C. release the line after one favorable-season observation
- D. combine disease screening with fermentation and bean-quality tests correct
Why: Resistance alone is insufficient when the economic product depends on quality.
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A breeding team in Pampanga plans to improve onion. Its stated objective is high bulb yield and storability. Which evaluation plan best matches that objective?
- A. select only the tallest plants in a single nursery
- B. measure yield and storage losses after harvest correct
- C. choose the earliest germinating seed lot without field testing
- D. release the line after one favorable-season observation
Why: A breeding objective involving storability must include postharvest evaluation.
Other Crop Science topics
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