History of plant breeding

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1: Introduction
- - 2: Plant Breeding Since 10,000 Years bc
- - 3: MENDEL’s Contribution to Genetics and Breeding
- - 4: Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
- - 5: “Farmerceuticals,” “Nutraceuticals,” and Other Exotic Characters
- - 6: Intellectual Property Rights, Plant Variety Protection, and Patenting
- - 7: Germplasm Maintenance
- - 8: Future Developments
- 9: In the Service of CERES—A Gallery of Breeders, Geneticists, and Persons Associated with Crop Improvement and Plant Breeding

While there has been great progress in the development of plant breeding over the last decade, the selection of suitable plants for human consumption began over 13,000 years ago. Since the Neolithic era, the cultivation of plants has progressed in Asia Minor, Asia, Europe, and ancient America, each specific to the locally wild plants as well as the ecological and social conditions. A handy reference for knowing our past, understanding the present, and creating the future, this book provides a comprehensive treatment of the development of crop improvement methods over the centuries. It features an extensive historical treatment of development, including influential individuals in the field, plant cultivation in various regions, techniques used in the Old World, and cropping in ancient America. The advances of scientific plant breeding in the twentieth century is extensively explored, including efficient selection methods, hybrid breeding, induced polyploidy, mutation research, biotechnology, and genetic manipulation. Finally, this book presents information on approaches to the sustainability of breeding and to cope with climatic changes as well as the growing world population.