Answer:
The correct answer is "to control the crossing of the traits to maintain a pure strain".
Step-by-step explanation:
Gregor Mendel is considered the father of genetics for his studies of inheritance in pea plants. Mendel studied how the pea plant's traits are transferred through generations by cross-pollination. However, in nature pea plants are usually reproduced by self-pollination at which the progeny is produced by a single plant. Mendel prevented his plants from self-pollinating to control the crossing of the traits to maintain a pure strain. By doing so, Mendel assured that the only reproducing method that he was studying was cross-pollination.
I hope this helped you, whatever your pronouns are.