Humans started changing plants more than 10,000 years ago. The aim of any plant breeding is to genetically modify plants in such a way that they are better adapted to the demands that humans make on them.
In cross-breeding, the breeder deliberately selects plants with the desired characteristics and crosses them with each other. The next generation resulting from this crossing is propagated and then further selected for the desired trait. This process is continued until a new variety with improved properties is finally produced.
Over time, depending on the crop, numerous breeding methods have developed, such as clone breeding (e.g. potato, apple, sugar cane), line breeding (e.g. cereals such as wheat), hybrid breeding (e.g. sugar beet, rape, maize) and population breeding (e.g. cabbage).