July 6, 2010

Source: Plant Breeding News - Edition 214, 30 June 2010
An Electronic Newsletter of Applied Plant Breeding
Clair H. Hershey, Editor
Sponsored by GIPB, FAO/AGP and Cornell University‘s Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics

North Carolina State University offering HS 541 Plant Breeding Methods, in a distance education version this fall. The instructor is Todd Wehner (todd_wehner@ncsu.edu).

CS, HS 541-section 601 DE; Plant Breeding Methods; 3 credits; lecture only

Prerequisites: statistics and genetics courses

This is an introductory Plant Breeding course for first year graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. The emphasis is on traditional methods of developing improved cultivars of cross-pollinated, self-pollinated, and asexually-propagated crops, and the genetic principles on which breeding methods are based. The purpose of this course is to provide the student a general background in all areas of plant breeding. The goal is to develop students (successfully completing this course) who are knowledgeable in all of the areas of plant breeding, and to have sufficient understanding to be able to master the advanced courses in plant breeding at NC State and other universities.

Overview of plant breeding methods for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Covers germplasm resources, pollen control, measurement of genetic variances, and heterosis. Special topics include genotype-environment interaction, index selection, stress resistance, polyploidy, and mutation breeding. In-depth coverage on methods for breeding cross-pollinated, self-pollinated and asexually-propagated crops. Prepares students for advanced study in CS,HS 719 (germplasm and biogeography), 720 (molecular genetics), 745 (quantitative genetics), 746 (advanced breeding), 748 (pest resistance, now PP590), 860 (breeding lab), and 861 (breeding lab).

For more information on HS 541 Plant Breeding Methods, see http://distance.ncsu.edu/courses/fall-courses/HS.php 

For more information on distance education at NC State University, see http://distance.ncsu.edu/

For more information on Todd Wehner, see http://cucurbitbreeding.ncsu.edu/

Dr. Todd C. Wehner
Professor and Cucurbit Breeder
Department of Horticultural Science
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7609
919-515-5363; 919-515-2505 (fax)
todd_wehner@ncsu.edu
http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/ (web)

Website: http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/services/pbn.html

Published: July 6, 2010