Dictionary of Plant Breeding

One of the oldest scientific traditions, plant breeding began in Neolithic times with methods as simple as saving the seeds of desirable plants and sowing them later. It was not until the re-encounter with Mendel’s discoveries thousands of years later, the genetic basis of breeding was understood. Developments following have provided further insight into how genes acting alone or in concert with other genes and the environment, result in a particular phenotype.

From Abaxial to Zymogram, the third edition of Dictionary of Plant Breeding contains clear and useful definitions of the terms associated with plant breeding and related scientific/technological disciplines. It defines jargon; provides helpful tables, examples, and breeding schemes; and includes a list of crop plants with salient details. Packed with data and organized to make that data easy to access, this revised and expanded reference provides comprehensive coverage of the latest discoveries in cytogenetics, molecular genetics, marker-assisted selection, experimental gene transfer, CRISPR technology, seed sciences, crop physiology, and genetically modified crops.

Features:

• Provides a comprehensive list of technical terms used in plant breeding
• Explores the historical development of crop improvement
• Discusses applications of molecular genetics and biotechnology
• Includes numerous figures, drawings, tables, and schemes supplementing the glossary

A complex subject, plant breeding draws from many scientific and technological disciplines, often making it difficult to know the precise meanings of many terms and to accurately interpret specific concepts. As in the previous editions, this dictionary unifies concepts by including the specific terms of plant breeding and terms that are adjusted from other disciplines. Drawing on Rolf Schlegel’s 50 years of experience, the book provides an encyclopedic list of commonly used technical terms that reflect the latest developments in the field.

Rolf H. J. Schlegel, Ph.D., is Professor of Cytogenetics and Applied Genetics, with over 50 years

of experience in research and teaching of advanced genetics and plant breeding in Germany and

Bulgaria. Prof. Schlegel is the author of more than 160 research papers, monographs, and scientific

contributions, co-coordinator of international research projects, and has been a scientific consultant

at the Bulgarian Academy of Agricultural Sciences for several years. He received his Master’s

degree in Agriculture and Plant Breeding, and his Ph.D. and D.Sc. in Genetics and Cytogenetics

from the Martin-Luther University Halle/S., Germany. Later he became Head of Laboratory of

Chromosome Manipulation and the Department of Applied Genetics and Genetic Resources at the

Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany, and the Head of the

Genebank at the Institute of Wheat and Sunflower Research, General Toshevo/Varna, as well as at

the AgroBioInstitute, Sofia, Bulgaria. He is now emeritus of the institute.