A farmer wants to maintain the high yield of a hybrid crop year after year without purchasing expensive new seeds every season. Which of the following biological phenomena, if introduced into the hybrid plants, would prevent the segregation of desirable characters in the progeny?

Step-by-step solution

Normally, seeds collected from hybrid plants are produced via sexual reproduction (amphimixis), which leads to the segregation of characters in the next generation and a loss of hybrid vigour. If apomixis is introduced into hybrid seeds, they develop without fertilization. Since apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction, the embryos are genetically identical to the maternal plant, meaning there is no segregation of characters. This allows the farmer to sow farm-saved seeds year after year while maintaining hybrid