High-yielding variety

High-yielding varieties (HYVs) of agricultural crops are usually characterized by a combination of the following traits in contrast to the conventional varieties:


 * Higher crop yield per area (hectare)
 * Dwarfness
 * Improved response to fertilizers
 * High reliance on irrigation and fertilizers - see intensive farming
 * Early maturation
 * Resistive to many diseases
 * Higher quality and quantity of crops can be produced.

Most important HYVs can be found among wheat, corn, soybean, rice, potato, and cotton. They are heavily used in commercial and plantation farms.

HYVs become popular in the 1960s and play an important role in the Green Revolution, although their ancestral roots can be older. HYVs are developed in the field of biotechnology.