Crop Improvement Challenges in the Twenty-First Century

Learn to integrate molecular genetic techniques with traditional plant breeding methods!This comprehensive book provides the latest authoritative scientific information on improvement of both temperate and tropical crops. Crop Improvement: Challenges in the Twenty-First Century brings together expert plant breeders and geneticists to address issues related to crop adaptability and stability across environments for important food and fiber crops. It emphasizes the need to integrate molecular genetic techniques with traditional plant breeding methods to develop hardier, more productive crops. Crop Improvement includes the latest research on physiological and biochemical responses of plants to drought and heat stress, which should help breeders develop effective strategies for improving resistance to abiotic stresses. In addition, this helpful book elucidates the use of mixed models and best linear unbiased prediction. To make the book comprehensive, chapters discuss stability analysis in crop performance trials and genotype-by-environment interactions.Crop Improvement includes detailed information on breeding specific crops, including: rice tropical maize sorghum common bean sugar beet bananas and plantain cottonCrop Improvement offers both practical information and up-to-date research. It also suggests a vision of new directions and partnerships that are expected to evolve in this century. This book is an essential resource for practicing plant breeders and geneticists at universities, government agencies, and industry. It should also be of use to teachers and students engaged in crop breeding.

Contents About the Editor Contributors Foreword Preface Part I: Introduction--Vision Chapter 1. Crop Breeding in the Twenty-First Century Introduction Present Status Summary and Predictions Part II: Crop Improvement Chapter 2. Rice Improvement: Past, Present, and Future Introduction Post-Green Revolution Varieties Impact of Modern Varieties Future Challenges Conclusions Chapter 3. Tropical Maize: Innovative Approaches for Sustainable Productivity and Production Increases Introduction Tropical Maize-Growing Environments Challenges of Maize Improvement for the Tropics New Approaches and Research That Combine Conventional Breeding and Molecular and Biotechnological Tools Moving the Benefits of Maize Genetic Improvement to Farmers Conclusions: Tropical Maize Improvement Needs Chapter 4. Maize Improvement for Resistance to Aflatoxins: Progress and Challenges Introduction Contamination Process Reducing Aflatoxin Contamination in Maize Interrupting/Reducing Toxin Production Ability of the Fungus Concluding Remarks Chapter 5. Sorghum Improvement: Past Achievements and Future Prospects Introduction Sorghum Production, Production Areas, and Importance in the Global Food Systems Evolutionary Genetics and Germplasm Diversity in Sorghum History of Sorghum Improvement Breeding Tools Breeding Objectives and Achievements Current Progress in Biotechnology for Sorghum Improvement Challenges and Future Prospects Chapter 6. The Common Bean and Its Genetic Improvement Origin, Domestication, and Diversity Growth Habits Usage Dry Bean Production Production Problems Traits Deficient in Common Bean History of Improvement Selection Methods Genetic Progress Achieved Difficulties and Challenges Integrated Genetic Improvement Conclusions and Prospects Chapter 7. Sugar Beet Breeding and Improvement Introduction Plant Characteristics and Inheritance Hybrid Production Selection Techniques Agronomic Traits Germplasm Resources Chapter 8. Bananas and Plantains: Future Challenges in Musa Breeding Introduction Overcoming Infertility Barriers New Methods for Manipulating a Multiploidy Crop New Breeding Approaches Summary and Conclusions Chapter 9. Molecular Markers, Genomics, and Cotton Improvement Introduction Use of Molecular Markers in Gossypium Linkage Maps and Their Applications QTLs and Functional Genomics Future Prospects Part III: Crop Issues Chapter 10. Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Plants to Drought and Heat Stress Introduction Water Relations Carbohydrate Metabolism Lipid Peroxidation Protein Synthesis Regulation of Drought and Heat Tolerance Evaluation of Drought and Heat Tolerance Summary Chapter 11. Stability Analysis in Crop Performance Evaluation Introduction The Data Model Selection Two-Way Analysis Three-Way Analysis Discussion Chapter 12. Best Linear Unbiased Prediction: A Mixed-Model Approach in Multienvironment Trials Introduction Mixed Models for Multienvironment Trials Predictive Accuracy of BLUPs Index Reference Notes Included