What is a hypothesis??

a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

Explanation:

A hypothesis is similar to an opinion or an idea

preservation because he preserves part of the land and preserves means save

explanation:

the last one: artificial selection/genetic engineering

plant breeding is modifying the genetic composition of the plant - but this isn't cloning (which is specifically introducing a gene into a genome). but you are artificially selecting for the phenotype that you want.

the second one is literally genetic engineering - the gene would have been cloned first and then inserted or genetically engineered into the new plant cell (the cotton).