Preface

The goal of Principles of Cultivar Development, and that of the preceding Plant Breeding Methods, is to help you learn how to be a successful manager of a cultivar development program. In Principles of Cultivar Development, you will apply the principles learned in Plant Breeding Methods to design a breeding program that makes effective use of available resources and alternative breeding strategies to develop clonal, pure-line, hybrid, and synthetic cultivars.

The topics for the chapters in Principles of Cultivar Development are Maximizing genetic gain, Development of clonal cultivars, Development of pure-line cultivars, Heterosis and hybrid vigor, Development of hybrid cultivars, Development of synthetic cultivars, Multilines and seed blends, and Release and distribution of cultivars.

In this book, we have designated additional reading that you should complete to fully understand the concepts in each chapter. The information in the text has been augmented with additional material that includes examples of how breeders have implemented the concepts in their breeding programs, videos, and pictures to help you visualize the methods.