Editing Hybrid (biology) (section)

===Effect on biodiversity and food security===
[[File:Irrigation1.jpg|thumb|The [[Green Revolution]] of the 20th century relied on hybridization to create [[high-yielding varieties]], along with increased reliance on inputs of [[fertilizer]]s, [[pesticide]]s, and [[irrigation]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Farmer |first=B. H. |date=1986 |title=Perspectives on the 'Green Revolution' in South Asia |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=175–199 |doi=10.1017/s0026749x00013627|s2cid=145626108}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Biodiversity|Food security}}

In agriculture and [[animal husbandry]], the [[Green Revolution]]'s use of conventional hybridization increased yields by breeding [[high-yielding varieties]]. The replacement of locally indigenous breeds, compounded with unintentional cross-pollination and crossbreeding (genetic mixing), has reduced the gene pools of various wild and indigenous breeds resulting in the loss of [[genetic diversity]].<ref>[http://www.farmedia.org/bulletins/bulletin28.html "Genetic Pollution: The Great Genetic Scandal"] Devinder Sharma {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090518120050/http://www.farmedia.org/bulletins/bulletin28.html |date=18 May 2009}}; Bulletin 28</ref> Since the indigenous breeds are often well-adapted to local extremes in climate and have immunity to local pathogens, this can be a significant genetic erosion of the gene pool for future breeding. Therefore, commercial plant geneticists strive to breed "widely adapted" cultivars to counteract this tendency.<ref>Troyer, A. Forrest. ''Breeding Widely Adapted Cultivars: Examples from Maize.'' Encyclopedia of Plant and Crop Science, 27 February 2004.</ref>