Reasons for Mendel's Success

Some of the reasons for Mendel’s success are:

• Mendel concentrated in one or few characters at a time.
• He made controlled crosses and kept careful numerical records of results.
• Mendel suggested 'factors' as the cause of characters
• The experimental material, Pisum sativum was a wise choice.

Pisum sativum (Garden pea)

The seven phenotypic traits Mendel selected for his hybridization experiments

• Pisum sativum has large bisexual flowers. As the flowers are large, emasculation is easy.
• Emasculation is the removal of anthers from bisexual flowers before their stigma become mature. Emasculation is a prerequisite for hybridization because pollination of a flower with its own pollen has to be totally prevented.
• Garden pea is a naturally self pollinated crop. Even then, hybridization with other varieties creates no problems like reduction in the number of seeds.
• Many varieties are available in garden pea. So, any number of hybridization can be done taking two varieties at a time.
• As garden pea is short duration crop, three or four generation can be raised in a year. Thus, the course of transmission of factors through several generations can be traced within a short span of time.