Plant breeding scientists from around world will gather in Mexico City during Aug. 20-25, 2006 for the First International Plant Breeding Symposium, which will honor John W. Dudley, emeritus professor of plant genetics at the University of Illinois (U of I).

The sessions will assess the state of the science of plant breeding and examine the future prospects for the field. The event is being organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Iowa State University, Monsanto, and Pioneer Hi-Bred International.

Prior to his retirement, Dudley was the inaugural holder of the Renessen Endowed Chair in Corn Quality Trait Breeding and Genetics. He is most well known for his research on the long-term selection of corn for protein and oil at the U of I. Other work has focused on improvement in yield and disease resistance, use of quantitative genetics in plant breeding and on applications of biotechnology to plant improvement.

Dudley has published more than 155 scientific papers and served on the editorial boards of the journal Crop Science and The Brazilian Journal of Genetics. He has received the DeKalb Crop Sciences Distinguished Career Award, the National Commercial Council of Plant Breeders Award, the Crop Science Research Award and the National Agri-Marketing Association award for contributions to Agricultural Science.

He is a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also served as associate head of the Department of Crop Sciences at the U of I.

Details on the seminar and full registration information are available on the Internet at www.intlplantbreeding.com.