Or hybrid vigor; Improvement in physical capacities that sometimes occurs in the hybrid produced by mating two genetically different parents.
The parents may be of different strains or varieties within a species, or of different species, as in the mule, which is stronger and has a longer life span than either of its parents (donkey and horse). Heterosis is also exploited in hybrid varieties of corn, tomatoes, and other crops.
tendency of a cross-bred individual to show greater vigor and capacity for growth than its parents.