ABSTRACT
Donald (1968) introduced the concept of ideotype as a plant model that is expected to yield a greater quantity or quality of grain, oil, or other useful product when developed as a cultivar. He devised the ideotyping procedure as a two-stage process in which putatively useful morphophysiological characters are experimentally validated, and then incorporated into novel varieties. This strategy of crop improvement, also defined as analytical breeding, was thought to provide higher yield gains in the long run than empirical breeding based on direct selection for yield, because of the straightforward opportunity that it may offer to attain the optimal trait architecture for the plant grown in the crop community. As recognized by Donald (1968) and Mock and Pearce (1975), the ideotype should not be independent of the target cropping environment to breed for but, rather, designed as a function of this environment. The ideotypes proposed by these researchers for wheat and maize were tailored for high input, favorable environments.
