Quick view on what we mean by hybrid seeds: In agriculture and gardening, hybrid seed is seed
produced by cross-pollinated plants. In hybrid seed
production, the crosses are specific and controlled. The advantage of growing hybrid seed compared to inbred lines (it is breeding between close relatives, whether plant or animal) comes from heterosis. The term heterosis is an out-breeding enhancement, which describes the increased strength of different characteristics in hybrids. It is a possibility to obtain a genetically superior individual (Seed) by combining the virtues of its parents. Another factor that is important in hybrid seed production is the combining ability of the parent plants.
Although two elite inbred parent plant varieties may produce the highest yields of their crop, it does not necessarily mean that crossing these inbred will result in the highest yielding hybrid. Higher combining ability between the parents results in increased performance in the resulting hybrid seed. Hybrids are bred to improve the characteristics of the resulting plants, such as better yield, greater uniformity, improved color, disease resistance, and so forth. Today, hybrid seed production is predominant in agriculture and home gardening, and is one of the main contributing factors to the dramatic rise in agricultural output during the last half of the 20th century. In the US, the commercial market was launched in the 1920s, with the first hybrid maize. All of the hybrid seeds planted by the farmer will be the same hybrid, which causes the first generation of seed from the hybrids planted to be inbred. This is why hybrid seed is generally not saved from subsequent generations and is purchased for each planting. Hybrid seeds are much dearer than normal seeds, due to the technology, time and effort put in to produce them.
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