Which breeding approach aims to combine desirable traits from genetically different individuals?

• A. Hybridization
• B. Inbreeding
• C. Genome
• D. Clone

Answer: (A)

This question tests the idea of bringing together desirable traits from different genetic backgrounds through crossing. That approach is hybridization: you mate genetically different individuals to combine their favorable characteristics into the offspring, such as merging disease resistance from one line with high yield from another.

Inbreeding, by contrast, involves mating related individuals to fix traits, which increases similarity and can reduce vigor. The word genome refers to the complete genetic material of an organism and isn’t a breeding method. Cloning creates a genetically identical copy of a single organism, which also doesn’t combine traits from different individuals.