[hibikir]

It's not that much better in plant breeding: You'll find hundreds upon hundreds of supposedly better varieties tried, and 5 years later, you are lucky to get 1 good one that one would consider commercializing. And that's after years of testing changes in smaller settings. We just don't have models that are predictive enough without planting, and waiting for plants to grow takes time.

[rwmj]

Way more than hundreds! Page about finding new varieties of roses: https://eu.davidaustinroses.com/pages/breeding-programme

[addaon]

(This is your annual reminder that atomic gardening is a thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_gardening)