Explain the process of emasculation and bagging of flowers. State their importance in breeding experiments.
(i) The removal of anthers from the flower bud before the anther splits apart in bisexual flowers is called emasculation. It is done by using a pair of forceps.
(ii) The emasculated flower is covered with a bag of suitable size, generally made of butter paper to prevent contamination of its stigma with unwanted pollen. This process is called bagging.
To obtain superior varieties, artificial hybridisation is one of the major approaches of crop improvement programmes. It is important that only the desired pollen grains are used for pollination and the stigma is protected from contamination.