3. The Breeding of Kenaf

The main purpose of breeding new kenaf is developing new varieties that are higher yielding, resistant to pests and diseases, drought-resistant or regionally adapted to different environments and growing conditions. Kenaf breeding can be accomplished through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular techniques. Classical kenaf breeding uses crossing of closely or distantly related individuals to produce new kenaf varieties or lines with desirable properties. Plants are crossbred to introduce traits/genes from one variety or line into a new genetic background. Modern plant breeding may use techniques of molecular biology to select, or in the case of genetic modification, to insert, desirable traits into kenaf. The main methods which have been used in kenaf are introduction and breeding, system selection, crossbreeding, mutation breeding, transgenic breeding, and so on.