What is the term for the selection of desirable traits by humans in plants and animals?

The selection of desirable traits by humans in plants and animals is called artificial selection. It occurs when people choose which organisms will reproduce so that preferred characteristics become more common in later generations.

Artificial selection underlies domestication and selective breeding. Farmers, breeders, and horticulturists have developed dog breeds, livestock varieties, ornamental flowers, and food crops by repeatedly reproducing individuals with useful or attractive traits. These traits may include larger fruit, higher milk production, unusual color, docile behavior, or resistance to disease.

Charles Darwin studied artificial selection closely and discussed examples involving pigeons, dogs, cattle, and plants in On the Origin of Species, published in 1859. He used it as an analogy for natural selection, but the processes differ: artificial selection is guided by human choices, whereas natural selection results from differences in survival and reproduction within an environment. Sexual selection is another distinct process involving mating success, not deliberate human breeding.