Selection, A Continuous Process

Selection is normally a continuous process. In mass selection a group of individuals are selected based on their superior performance, seed from these plants is bulked to form a new generation, and then the process is repeated. Each round of selection and bulking of seed is called a generation or cycle of selection, and in each cycle the selected plants are the parents of the next generation. A cycle of mass selection can be completed each year. This is another attribute of mass selection. More complicated types of selection, which will be considered in subsequent lessons of this series, often require several years to complete a cycle of selection.