This book, Plant Breeding, has it bases in an earlier
text entitled An Introduction to Plant Breeding by Jack
Brown and Peter Caligari, first published in 2008. The challenges
facing today’s plant breeders have never been more
overwhelming, yet the prospects to contribute significantly to
global food security and farmers’ quality of life have never
been more exciting and fulfilling. Despite this there has
been a worrying decline in public funding for plant
breeding-related research and support for international
centers of germplasm development and crop improvement.
In part, this has resulted in a serious reduction in the number of
young people interested in devoting their professional careers to
plant breeding as well as the number of universities offering plant
breeding courses or conducting relevant research in plant
breeding.
The authors’ aim in writing this book is to provide an
integrated and updated view of the current scientific progress
related to diverse plant breeding disciplines, within the context
of applied breeding programs. This excellent new book will
encourage a new generation of students to pursue careers related to
plant breeding and will assist a wider audience of agricultural
students, agronomists, policy makers and those with an interest in
agriculture in gaining insight about the issues affecting plant
breeding and its key role in improving the quality of life of
people and in securing sufficient food, at the quality required and
at an affordable price.
With comprehensive coverage including questions designed for
students, and an accompanying website containing additional
material to help in the study of the subject, Plant Breeding
is an ideal text for all those studying plant and crop sciences,
and a convenient reference source for professionals working in the
area. All libraries within universities and research establishments
where biological and agricultural sciences are studied and taught
should have multiple copies of this book.
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Jack Brown, Full Professor, Plant Breeding &
Genetics, University of Idaho, USA. HNC Mathematics &
Statistics, Napier College, Edinburgh, Scotland; MSc and Ph D at St
Andrews University, St Andrews, Scotland. Professor Brown has
over 40 years of experience working as a plant breeder in the
public and private sector and has developed and released cultivars
of barley, potato, canola, mustard and wheat. Professor Brown
currently teaches upper division and graduate classes in plant
breeding, genetics, and field crop production.
Peter Caligari, Full Professor, University of Talca,
Chile. BSc, Ph D and DSc at University of Birmingham,
UK. Professor Caligari has over 40 years of research
experience in, and application of, genetics and plant breeding in a
range of crops including potatoes, cashew nuts, oil palm, lupins,
strawberries and blueberries, and extensive teaching experience
including plant breeding and genetics at the graduate and
post-graduate level.
Hugo Campos, Fellow, Monsanto, Chile. BSc at
Universidad Austral de Chile, Ph D at the John Innes Centre, UK, MBA
at Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile. Dr Campos has over 24 years
of experience in plant biotechnology, crop breeding and product
development in industry, academia and international agricultural
development.