The objectives of a tree breeding program range from yield improvement and adaptation to particular conditions, to pest- and disease-resistance, wood properties, etc.
Research has shown that peer-run self-help groups yield improvement in psychiatric symptoms resulting in decreased hospitalization, larger social support networks and enhanced self-esteem and social functioning.
So it's not a big surprise that they'd rather watch television because you don't do something that you struggle with and doesn't seem like it is going to yield improvement.
After 1955 however, there was a dramatic ten-fold increase in the rate of wheat yield improvement per year, and this became the major factor allowing global wheat production to increase.