--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret of improved plant breeding…" description: "\"The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love. While I was conducting experiments to make spineless cacti, I often ta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/luther-burbank-8576_breeding_the-secret-of-improved-plant-breeding-ap_2050503.jpg" --- # The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from… ![“The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love. While I was conducting experiments to make spineless cacti, I often talked to the plants. . . . "You have nothing to fear," I would tell them. "You don't need your defensive thorns. I will protect you." Gradually the…” quote by Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/luther-burbank-8576_breeding_the-secret-of-improved-plant-breeding-ap_2050503.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/luther-burbank-8576_breeding_the-secret-of-improved-plant-breeding-ap_2050503.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/luther-burbank-8576_breeding_the-secret-of-improved-plant-breeding-ap_2050503.jpg) > “The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love. While I was conducting experiments to make spineless cacti, I often talked to the plants. . . . "You have nothing to fear," I would tell them. "You don't need your defensive thorns. I will protect you." Gradually the useful plant of the desert emerged in a thornless variety.” [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that emotional care and gentle communication with plants can enhance scientific outcomes beyond technical expertise. **In simple terms:** Love and gentle talk help plants grow better. Key Takeaway Treat living subjects with respect and kindness. Themes gardening plant breeding empathy Mood reflective inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - experimental horticulture - desert agriculture - crop improvement - educational workshops Key Concepts Botany plant physiology human‑plant interaction Questions to Reflect On - How can empathy influence scientific practice? - What limits exist when relying on emotional care? A Different Perspective Emotional connection may not replace rigorous methodology or guarantee success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-knowledge/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Variety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variety/) ## Related quotes > [The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/the-secret-of-improved-plant-breeding-apart-from-scientific-knowledge/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Plant breeding has been going on for millennia and it's a gradual process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-don/plant-breeding-has-been-going-on-for-millennia-and-it-s-a-gradual/) [Monty Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-don/) > [The more I did it-the more it owned me. It made things matter. It put a spine into my spineless life and that spine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/the-more-i-did-it-the-more-it-owned-me-it-made-things-matter-it-put-a/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [In Leon's account of his life, no-one was mean-spirited, no-one schemed or lied or betrayed; everyone was celebrated at least in some degree... Leon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/in-leon-s-account-of-his-life-no-one-was-mean-spirited-no-one-schemed/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Sometimes I cry, wondering how it was possible that I could have been so goddamn weak, so f\*cking spineless. Without you around, I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-demetrios/sometimes-i-cry-wondering-how-it-was-possible-that-i-could-have-been/) [Heather Demetrios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-demetrios/) > [As a producer, sitting on the other side of the desk, I have never once had an agent go out on a limb for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/as-a-producer-sitting-on-the-other-side-of-the-desk-i-have-never-once/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [In our rough and rugged individualism, we think of gentleness as weakness, being soft and virtually spineless. Not so! Gentleness includes such enviable qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/in-our-rough-and-rugged-individualism-we-think-of-gentleness-as/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [Investigative superstar Jason Leopold spares no one, least of all himself, in this devastatingly accurate first-hand exposé. News Junkie provides the best account so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/investigative-superstar-jason-leopold-spares-no-one-least-of-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One side thinks the president'€™s request for war-making powers is too brazen and even reckless. The other side thinks it is too spineless and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-baker/one-side-thinks-the-president-s-request-for-war-making-powers-is-too/) [Peter Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-baker/) > [My generation's apathy. I'm disgusted with it. I'm disgusted with my own apathy too, for being spineless and not always standing up against racism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/my-generation-s-apathy-i-m-disgusted-with-it-i-m-disgusted-with-my/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [Why, I've never even had a quarrel with any one. I haven't an enemy. What a spineless thing I must be not to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/why-i-ve-never-even-had-a-quarrel-with-any-one-i-haven-t-an-enemy/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [What a spineless thing I must be not to have one enemy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/what-a-spineless-thing-i-must-be-not-to-have-one-enemy/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [According to current birthrate projections, France will be a majority Muslim country anyway in about 50 years. I get a lot of e-mails from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-condell/according-to-current-birthrate-projections-france-will-be-a-majority/) [Pat Condell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-condell/) > [One thing I have learned in my time in politics is that if one of the parties is shameless, the other party cannot afford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lautenberg/one-thing-i-have-learned-in-my-time-in-politics-is-that-if-one-of-the/) [Frank Lautenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lautenberg/) > [Your Shawn Michaels can lose his smile, and he's so afraid of me, he comes out and hands me his belt. Spineless!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-douglas/your-shawn-michaels-can-lose-his-smile-and-he-s-so-afraid-of-me-he/) [Shane Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-douglas/) ## More by Luther Burbank > [If we cannot meet our everyday surroundings with equanimity and pleasure and grow each day in some useful direction, then... life is on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/if-we-cannot-meet-our-everyday-surroundings-with-equanimity-and/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Let us read the Bible without the ill-fitting colored spectacles of theology, just as we read other books, using our judgment and reason. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/let-us-read-the-bible-without-the-ill-fitting-colored-spectacles-of/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Plants are as responsive to thought as children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/plants-are-as-responsive-to-thought-as-children/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Science . . . has opened our eyes to the vastness of the universe and given us light, truth and freedom from fear where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/science-has-opened-our-eyes-to-the-vastness-of-the-universe-and-given/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [For those who do not think, it is best at least to rearrange their prejudices once in a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/for-those-who-do-not-think-it-is-best-at-least-to-rearrange-their/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [The greatest happiness in the world is to make others happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/the-greatest-happiness-in-the-world-is-to-make-others-happy/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Heredity is nothing but stored environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/heredity-is-nothing-but-stored-environment/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/flowers-always-make-people-better-happier-and-more-helpful-they-are/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Religion grows with the intelligence of man, but all religions of the past and probably all of the future will sooner or later become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/religion-grows-with-the-intelligence-of-man-but-all-religions-of-the/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Justice, love, truth, peace and harmony, a serene unity with science and the laws of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/justice-love-truth-peace-and-harmony-a-serene-unity-with-science-and/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Our lives as we lead them as passed on to others, whether in physical or mental forms, tingeing all future lives together. This should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/our-lives-as-we-lead-them-as-passed-on-to-others-whether-in-physical/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [We must return to nature and nature's god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/we-must-return-to-nature-and-nature-s-god/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [The idea that a good God would send people to a burning hell is utterly damnable to me - the raving of insanity, superstition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/the-idea-that-a-good-god-would-send-people-to-a-burning-hell-is/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Science is the only savior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/science-is-the-only-savior/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [“We must learn that any person who will not accept what he knows to be truth for the very love of truth alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/we-must-learn-that-any-person-who-will-not-accept-what-he-knows-to-be/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) [Explore all 79 Luther Burbank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) ## More Breeding quotes > [“Galton’s gospel of eugenics found fertile soil in Britain, in the intellectual salons of Europe, and in the United States. Beginning in the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-loconte/galton-s-gospel-of-eugenics-found-fertile-soil-in-britain-in-the/) Joseph Loconte > [Eugenic goals are most likely to be attained under another name than eugenics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-osborn/eugenic-goals-are-most-likely-to-be-attained-under-another-name-than/) [Frederick Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-osborn/) > [There are few defects in our nature so glaring as not to be veiled from observation by politeness and good-breeding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/there-are-few-defects-in-our-nature-so-glaring-as-not-to-be-veiled/) [Stanisław I Leszczyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Exchange of breeding individuals between two populations tends to homogenize their gene pools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-r-grant/exchange-of-breeding-individuals-between-two-populations-tends-to/) [Peter R. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-r-grant/) > [Good-breeding is not confined to externals, much less to any particular dress or attitude of the body; it is the art of pleasing, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/good-breeding-is-not-confined-to-externals-much-less-to-any/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [The right to live does not connote the right of each man to reproduce his kind ... As we lessen the stringency of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pearson/the-right-to-live-does-not-connote-the-right-of-each-man-to-reproduce/) [Karl Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pearson/) > [Growing up in that fashion is a breeding ground for insecurity and doubt; it also leaves you questioning motives. It took me a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-runyon/growing-up-in-that-fashion-is-a-breeding-ground-for-insecurity-and/) [Damon Runyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-runyon/) > [Easy writing's curst hard reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/easy-writing-s-curst-hard-reading/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [No parent can consistently teach faith in Christ who profanes the name of Deity. Profanity is never heard in the well-ordered home. Swearing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/no-parent-can-consistently-teach-faith-in-christ-who-profanes-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [In a way, human beings have never been part of the natural order; we're not biological in the normal sense. Normal biological animals stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/in-a-way-human-beings-have-never-been-part-of-the-natural-order-we-re/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Compliments of congratulation are always kindly taken, and cost nothing but pen, ink and paper. I consider them as draughts upon good breeding, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/compliments-of-congratulation-are-always-kindly-taken-and-cost/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Organized charity itself is. . . the surest sign that our civilization has bred, is breeding and is perpetuating constantly increasing numbers of defectives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/organized-charity-itself-is-the-surest-sign-that-our-civilization-has/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [I think it is more of an intuitive, circular kind of personality, for starters. And, as I say of horses, the secret to breeding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walton/i-think-it-is-more-of-an-intuitive-circular-kind-of-personality-for/) Alice Walton > [Well, puppy mills are - it's just a name given to really, really bad dog breeding facilities and sadly, we have a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-trump/well-puppy-mills-are-it-s-just-a-name-given-to-really-really-bad-dog/) [Lara Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-trump/) Browse all 411 Breeding quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love. While I was conducting experiments to make spineless cacti, I often talked to the plants. . . . \"You have nothing to fear,\" I would tell them. \"You don't need your defensive thorns. 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