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Mutation Breeding
Refers to several techniques, involving induced mutations, that were utilized by some crop plant breeders (e.g., primarily in the 1960s and 1970s) to introduce desirable genes into the plants they were working with. For example, gene(s) to confer:

resistance to plant diseases...
increased yield per acre/hectare...
improvements in composition...

...that were not present within the historic/natural germplasm of that plant species.

These new to that species genes were "created" via:

soaking its seeds or pollen in mutation-causing chemicals (i.e., mutagens) such as colchicine or sodium azide, or
via bombardment of seeds with X-rays, or
via bombardment of seed with fast neutron radiation (i.e., causes deletion of approximately 1,000 bp of DNA each time), or
via bombardment of seed with gamma radiation (i.e., causes deletion of several hundred bp of DNA each time). For example, cauliflower was the result of such a naturally-occurring mutation (to wild cabbage).

followed by grow-out of the resultant plants and selection of the particular mutation (i.e., beneficial trait) desired by the plant breeder. That plant was then propagated via straightforward breeding to yield seeds that are still sown today.

TRADITIONAL BREEDING METHODS, MUTATION, MUTAGEN, GENE, TRAIT, WHEAT, BARLEY, POINT MUTATION, COLCHICINE, BASE PAIR (BP), DELETIONS

The term "Mutation Breeding" also appears in the definition(s) of the following term(s):
Herbicide-Tolerant Crop
Barley
Traditional Breeding Methods

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