Concepts

Heterosis

het-er-OH-sis

Also Known As Hybrid vigor

Citation Formats

General Reference

Agriculture and Farming Atlas. "Heterosis." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/heterosis.

APA Style

Agriculture and Farming Atlas. (n.d.). Heterosis. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/heterosis

BibTeX

@misc{agricultureandfarmingatlas-heterosis,
  author = {Agriculture and Farming Atlas},
  title = {Heterosis},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/heterosis},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The improved performance of a hybrid over both of its parents, the phenomenon breeders call hybrid vigor. Demonstrated in maize by George Shull and Edward East in the early twentieth century, and made practical by Donald Jones's double-cross method of 1914 to 1917, it is the reason nearly all commercial corn is hybrid corn: the crosses substantially outyield conventional varieties and respond better to fertilizer. Why crossing distant parents produces the boost is still argued among competing genetic explanations.

Facts

Origin Year

1914 1

George H. Shull coined the term heterosis in 1914, after he and Edward East had independently documented the yield gain in hybrid maize around 1908.

Cross-Tradition Connections