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Table of Contents

1 Plant Breeders and Their Work.- What Is Plant Breeding?.- The Strategy of Plant Breeding.- Training for the Modern Plant Breeder.- Some Early Plant Breeders.- Some Accomplishments in Plant Breeding.- Who Does Plant Breeding in the United States?.- 2 Reproduction in Crop Plants.- Types of Reproduction.- Sexual Reproduction in Crop Plants.- Asexual Reproduction in Crop Plants.- 3 Gene Recombination in Plant Breeding.- Variation, the Basis of Plant Breeding.- The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity.- Gene Recombination Following Hybridization.- Gene Structure and Action.- 4 Quantitative Inheritance in Plant Breeding.- Quantitative Inheritance and its Measurement.- Multiple Alleles.- Types of Gene Action.- Heritability.- Selection Intensity and Genetic Advance.- Gene Frequency and Genetic Equilibrium.- Gene Recombination and Plant Breeding.- 5 Variations in Chromosome Number.- Polyploidy.- Aneuploidy.- Haploidy.- 6 Mutation.- The Nature of Mutation.- Induction of Mutation.- Mutator Genes and Controlling Elements.- Some Mutation-Breeding Experiments.- Role of Mutation Breeding.- 7 Fertility-Regulating Mechanisms and Their Manipulation.- Incompatibility.- Male Sterility.- Apomixis.- Interspecific Hybridization.- 8 Plant Cell and Tissue Culture: Applications in Plant Breeding.- Plant Cell and Tissue Culture.- Clonal Propagation.- Embryo Culture, Ovule Culture, and in Vitro Pollination.- Anther Culture and Haploid Plant Production.- Genetic Variability from Cell Cultures.- Somatic Cell Hybridization.- Plant Genetic Engineering.- 9 Germplasm Resources and Conservation.- Germplasm Conservation.- Germplasm Resources and Their Maintenance in the United States.- How Genetic Resources Are Utilized.- Acclimatization.- 10 Breeding Self-Pollinated Crops.- What Is a Variety?.- Genetic Significance of Pollination Method.- Breeding Methods in Self-Pollinated Crops.- Plant Breeding: A Numbers Game?.- 11 Breeding Cross-Pollinated and Clonally Propagated Crops.- Genetic Structure of Cross-Pollinated Crops.- Breeding Seed-Propagated Cross-Pollinated Crops.- Breeding Clonally Propagated Crops.- 12 Breeding Hybrids.- Proprietary Nature of Hybrid Varieties.- Inbreeding.- Hybrid Vigor or Heterosis.- Double-Cross Hybrid Corn—The Model for Hybrid Breeding.- Cytoplasmic Male Sterility and Hybrid Seed Production.- Alternative Hybrid Procedures.- 13 Techniques in Breeding Field Crops.- Selfing and Crossing.- Conducting Field Trials.- Maturity Comparisons.- Resistance to Lodging and Shattering.- Resistance to Stress.- Breeding for Disease Resistance.- Breeding for Insect Resistance.- Measuring Quality.- Keeping Accurate Records.- 14 Breeding Wheat and Triticale.- Breeding Wheat.- Breeding Triticale.- 15 Breeding Rice.- Origin and Types.- Varieties.- Botany and Genetics.- Breeding Methods.- Breeding Objectives.- Upland Rice.- Deep-Water and Floating Rice.- Wild Rice.- 16 Breeding Barley and Oats.- Breeding Barley.- Breeding Oats.- 17 Breeding Soybeans.- Origin and Species.- Genetics.- Botany.- Varieties.- The USDA and Cooperative State Agricultural Experimental Stations.- International Soybean Program (INTSOY).- Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC).- Breeding Methods.- Breeding Objectives.- 18 Breeding Corn (Maize).- Origin.- Races of Corn.- Genetics.- Pollination.- Heterozygous Nature of Open-Pollinated Corn.- Breeding Open-Pollinated Corn.- Hybrid Corn.- Breeding Improved Hybrids.- Population Improvement.- Breeding Objectives.- Special-Purpose Hybrids.- International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.- 19 Breeding Sorghum and Millet.- BreedingSorghum.- Breeding Millet.- 20 Breeding Cotton.- Botany, Pollination, and Male Sterility.- Genetics and Cytology.- Varieties.- Breeding Methods.- Variety Maintenance.- Breeding Objectives.- 21 Breeding Sugar Beets.- History of the Sugar Beet.- Botany and Genetics.- Varieties.- Breeding Methods.- Breeding Objectives.- 22 Breeding Forage Crops.- Forage Crop Breeding Problems.- Pollination, Fertilization, and Seed Setting.- Vegetative Propagation.- Genetic and Cytogenetic Studies.- Natural Selection.- Endophytic Fungi: Impact on Grass Breeding.- Breeding Self-Pollinated Forage Species.- Breeding Cross-Pollinated Forage Species.- Public versus Private Breeding of Forage Crops.- Breeding Objectives.- Seed Increase of New Varieties.- 23 Seed Production Practices.- Public and Private Plant Breeding and Seed Distribution.- Classes of Certified Seed.- How a New Variety Reaches the Farmer.- How a Variety is Certified.- Agencies Concerned with Seed Certification in the United States.- Practical Problems in Seed Production.- Vegetatively Propagated Forages.