29978 - Breeding of Herbaceous crops

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student gains the knowledge for planning and organizing the constitution of new varieties, by identifying the breeding objectives in relation to the genetic structure of the populations and to the biological, agronomic and economic aspects. Moreover, the student gains the theoretical and methodological knowledge of the induction of genetic variability and of selection, by considering both conventional and biotechnological procedures. Finally, the student gains knowledge of the aspects concerning the genetics of seed production and seed biology.

Course contents

Reproductive systems of plants. Flower characteristics of self-pollinated and cross-pollinated species. Monoecism and dioecism. Self-incompatibility and male-sterility. Agamic propagation. Response to selection for qualitative and quantitative traits. Components of the phenotypic variance. Heritability. Breeding procedures for self-pollinated species. Genetic structure of the natural populations. Pure line selection. Development of new genetic variation. Cross and selection. Pedigree and backcross. Breeding procedures for cross-pollinated species. Genetic structure of the natural populations. Recurrent selections. Synthetic varieties. Hybrids. Selection of the parental lines and estimate of their combining ability. Induction of mutations. Physical and chemical mutagens. Chimera. Variety identification and purity. Biochemical and molecular markers in the genetic analyis. Estimate of the genetic relationships on the basis of the information provided by molecular markers.

Readings/Bibliography

G. Barcaccia, M. Falcinelli. Genetica e genomica. Volume II. Miglioramento genetico. 2005. Liguori editore, Napoli.

G. Barcaccia, M. Falcinelli. Genetica e genomica. Volume III. Genomica e Biotecnologie genetiche. 2006. Liguori editore, Napoli.

Teaching methods

The course includes lectures and practical exercises. Lectures deal with the main breeding procedures of the herbaceous crops and with the genetics of seed production. The practical exercises deal with the analysis of variance of data provided to the students, with the calculation of heritability and on the utilization of the molecular markers in the laboratory. Moreover, students will be accompanied to visit fields in which materials under selection are grown.

Assessment methods

The final exam is oral and includes questions aimed at ascertaining the knowledge of the theoretical and applied aspects of plant breeding, similar to the ones developed in the lectures and in the practical exercises.

Teaching tools

Teaching tools like PC and projectors will be used. Moreover, experimental populations will be grown to carry out practical investigations on the genetic variability.

Office hours

See the website of Pierangelo Landi