in livestock raising, a special form of commercial crossbreeding to obtain highly productive animals. Crisscrossing has been known since the late 19th century. In Russia, the theoretical basis of the method was laid by E. A. Bogdanov, D. A. Kislovskii, and others. It consists of crossing two or more breeds and alternately mating the hybrid females over several generations with males of the original breeds. Crisscrossing is based on the phenomenon of heterosis in hybrids of not only the first but several succeeding generations. The most important prerequisite for successful crisscrossing is the scientific selection of well-matched breeds. Crisscrossing involving two breeds is called simple, and crisscrossing involving three or more breeds is called complex. Multiple-breed crisscrossing is most effective in swine breeding.
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