Hybridisation Traditional Breeds

Hybridisation is the agricultural practice of genetically manipulating flora and fauna that differ in heredity. Hybridisation and mutations are the main source of hereditary variation and can result in the increased growth rate, manipulated gender ratios, increased yields, sterile animals, improved flesh quality, increase disease resistance and improve environmental tolerance. Intraspecific hybridisation method is used for livestock breeding whereby individuals of different breeds or strains are mated. Distant hybridisation for livestock is difficult to accomplish as hybrids are usually sterile. Hybrid animals are extremely difficult to produce and specialists often spend their careers attempting to create a new breed of animal. Hybridisation is plant species is more common and has a greater success rate than animal species, however successfully creating a hybrid species remains difficult to achieve. Specialists are trained on the gene sequence and different methods for accomplishing hybridisation. The development of hybrid flora and fauna is often undertaken to address a problem or issue. For example, to address socio-economic challenges agricultural researchers may attempt to produce a species of chickens who lay lager eggs or cows who produce more milk. Hybridisation is also applied to address the challenges of a changing climate including producing crops that are more drought resistant. Due to the research and development of these hybrid species they are expensive to access and often not available in remote areas. Traditional breeds are pure individual species with no DNA alterations. They are often endemic to an area and because of this have evolved and adapted to the geophysical area they are found. Thus, traditional breeds are often found in certain areas, and through traditional knowledge have been incorporated into local farming systems for generations. With an increasingly globalised world, it is difficult to maintain distinct traditional breeds as trade in species, seeds etc. is increasingly prevalent. However, with a new focus and dedication of farmers and researchers to explore indigenous knowledge there is an increased focus on reinvigorating the incorporation of traditional breeds of both flora and fauna.