Final answer:
Option (d), Crucial for the success of pea hybridization experiments are environmental conditions, which ensure controlled breeding and isolation of plants to prevent self-fertilization.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of hybridization experiments conducted with peas, environmental conditions are a crucial factor for success. When Gregor Mendel performed his famous hybridizations, which involved mating two true-breeding pea plants with different traits, he had to ensure that the environmental conditions did not interfere with his controlled crosses. The success of these experiments led to foundational principles in genetics, like Mendel's Laws.
For instance, Mendel's law of independent assortment is based on the cellular process where chromosomes align randomly during meiosis. Furthermore, genetic recombination, which leads to variation among offspring, can occur through processes like crossing over during meiosis, contributing to the unique genetic makeup of the offspring.
It's worth noting that while environmental conditions are crucial for the physical process of cross-fertilization, the genetic principles underpinning hybridization, such as genetic recombination and chromosomal crossover, are also fundamental to the inheritance of traits. Mendel's experiments with pea plants, including those with seed texture and other traits, highlighted the importance of controlled breeding environments to distinguish genetic influences from environmental ones.