ABSTRACT
Verysoonafterthe1900rediscoveryofMendel'sinsightsintotherulesof heredity,scientists,especiallyinBritain,soughttoapplythemtocropimprovement. Anothervaluableinnovationduringtheearlypartofthecenturywasthe developmentof'purelines'ofself-pollinatingcrops.Purelinesbreedtruetotype andcontainconsistentandidentifiabletraitsthatcanbetransferredtootherplants. Accordingtotwoexpertsonthepoliticsofmodemagriculture,RobinPistoriusand JeroenvanWijk(1999:36),'whileMendelianbreedingallowedforacontrolled mixingofgeneticcharacteristics,purelinebreedingofferedapracticalmethodto "fix"theminsucceedinggenerations'.
