INTRODUCTION TO PLANT BREEDING

AGRONOMY 815 / COURSE NOTES

P. STEPHEN BAENZIGER, 338 Keim Hall, 472-1538

DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY / UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE

    1. INTRODUCTION:

      1. Contributions of plant breeding
      2. Relationship to other sciences
      3. Training for plant breeding

    2. BREEDING PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO SELF-POLLINATED SPECIES:

      1. Pedigree Method: an example
      2. Genetic or heritable variation

        1. Qualitative traits
        2. Quantitative traits
        3. Recombination, gene interaction and linkage (mitosis and meiosis)

      3. Environmental or nonheritable variation
      4. Heritability
      5. Hybridization with segregating populations handled by:

        1. Pedigree method
        2. Bulk method
        3. Single seed descent and doubled haploidy
        4. Backcrossing

      6. Mass selection
      7. Pure line selection
      8. Combination of methods
      9. Recurrent selection

    3. COLLECTING AND CREATING GENETIC VARIABILITY:

      1. Crop origins and plant introduction
      2. Hybridization for creating variability
      3. Chromosome remodeling (polyploidy)
      4. Inducing and utilizing mutations
      5. Tissue culture and genetic engineering

    4. REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS:

      1. Floral structures and pollination
      2. Classification according to pollination mechanisms
      3. Apomixis
      4. Genetic consequences of pollinating habits

        1. Inbreeding
        2. Outbreeding
        3. Heterosis

    5. BREEDING PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO CROSS-POLLINATED SPECIES:

      1. Mass selection: an example
      2. Genetic variation and the selection process

        1. Gene frequencies
        2. Mass selection and qualitative traits
        3. Mass selection and quantitative traits
        4. Response to selection Pure line selection

      3. Hybridization

        1. Selection and evaluation of lines
        2. Population improvement through recurrent selection
        3. Synthetics and composites

    6. PRODUCTS OF BREEDING:

      1. Improved chemical or quality attributes
      2. Resistance to disease and insects
      3. Resistance to physical environmental hazards

    7. VARIETY OR HYBRID PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION:

      • Priorities, management and team research in crop improvement

      1. Problem identification
      2. Design
      3. Organization
      4. Interdisciplinary research at the local, national, and international level