to start developing into a new plant or animal after joining with a male cell from the same plant or animal, rather than a different one

He let the yellow pea plants self-fertilize to see what the second generation would look like. 他让黄色豌豆植物自育，看下一代会长成什么样。

Those seeds can either self-fertilize or be cross-pollinated by a variety of insects. 这些种子可以自育，也可以通过各类昆虫交叉授粉。