How can we restore fertility and yield in case of inbreeding depression ?

Answer

**Step-by-Step Solution:**

1. **Understanding Inbreeding and Inbreeding Depression:**
- Inbreeding refers to the mating of closely related individuals, which increases the chances of offspring inheriting recessive traits that can be detrimental.
- Inbreeding depression is the decline in fitness and fertility observed in small populations due to this close mating, leading to the expression of harmful recessive traits and an increased genetic load.

2. **Identifying the Problem:**
- Inbreeding depression results in reduced fertility and yield in agricultural species, which can severely impact food production.

3. **Introducing Genetic Diversity:**
- To counteract inbreeding depression, it is essential to introduce genetic diversity into the breeding population. This can be achieved by introducing alleles from different populations of the same species.

4. **Crossbreeding:**
- Crossbreeding involves mating individuals from different populations. This practice can help to reduce homozygosity at many loci in the offspring, which is beneficial because it can mask deleterious recessive traits.

5. **Outbreeding Enhancement:**
- The process of introducing genetic material from different populations to improve fitness and fertility is known as outbreeding enhancement. This technique can effectively restore fertility and yield in cases of inbreeding depression.

6. **Conclusion:**
- By implementing outbreeding enhancement through crossbreeding with diverse populations, we can successfully restore fertility and yield in crops affected by inbreeding depression.

---