Hybrid Sorting in Haploid Breeding
One of the essential steps in haploid breeding involves selection of superior plants among haploids derived from F₁ hybrids through anther culture. It is popularly described as hybrid sorting and virtually means selection of recombinant superior gametes. The haploid method of breeding involving hybrid sorting is considered superior over pedigree and bulk methods, firstly because the frequency of superior gametes is higher than the frequency of corresponding superior plants in F₂ generation, and secondly because haploid breeding reduces significantly the time required for development of a new variety.

For instance, if we assume that the frequency of superior F₁ gametes is one in one hundred (1/100), then the frequency of homozygous F₂ plants derived from the fusion of two such superior similar gametes would be one in ten thousand (1/10000). Therefore, smaller populations of doubled haploids derived from haploids will need to be handled.

The above technique of hybrid sorting has been successfully utilized, particularly in China and Japan, for development of new varieties in several crops. In Japan, an excellent tobacco cultivar, ‘F-211’ bred through anther culture, is resistant to bacterial wilt and has a mild smoking quality. In China, more than 100 rice varieties developed using the same technique, gave an increased yield and, therefore, occupy significant areas of rice cultivation.

Haploids have also been successfully utilized for breeding of  barley, maize, sugarcane, oilseed rape or canola (B. napus), bell peppers and some other crops. In barley, atleast two varieties (Mingo, Gwylan) have been produced in Canada using haploids derived through bulbosum technique of chromosome elimination. The varieties were superior for characters like disease resistance (against powdery mildew and barley yellow mosaic virus) and other yield contributing traits.

Despite the above conspicuous achievements made through haploid breeding, we find that on a world wide level, the acreage occupied by varieties developed through haploid breeding is negligible. In India, no variety in any crop has so far been developed through haploid breeding. Even at an international level the emphasis on haploid breeding has gone down in recent years, partly due to failure in achieving the expected targets and partly due to shift in emphasis toward molecular plant breeding involving transgenic crops and molecular marker aided selection.

A comparison of haploid breeding with conventional breeding
A comparison of haploid method of breeding with conventional methods (pedigree method, bulk method, single seed discent or SSDO) suggests that the time period required in haploid breeding is only 4-5 years, as against 10 years required in pedigree/bulk method.