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Breeding for Quantitative Traits in Plants. R. BERNARDO. Stemma Press, 1938 Bowsens Lane, Woodbury, MN 55125. 2002. Hardback, 369 pp., $65.00. ISBN: 0-9720724-0-3
Genetic improvement of crop plants is a continuous process and there is a constant demand for educated plant breeders. The primary objective of this book is to educate future plant breeders about population and quantitative genetics and apply that understanding to plant breeding. True to its objective, the text was initially conceived from classroom hand-outs to graduate students at Purdue University. In addition, because of the author's experience in private breeding companies, it may also serve as a contemporary reference of fundamental concepts and philosophies for practicing plant breeders and instructors. There is an admitted corn bias in the given examples with a focus on inbred and hybrid development; however, no better cross-pollinating species could be used to teach the basics of plant breeding. Perhaps to reach a larger audience at an affordable price, this book was boldly published with an small publisher (currently, this is their only title; http://stemmapress.com; verified 27 February 2003) which may limit its visibility and distribution. It was written for students who have had an initial graduate course in plant breeding and a graduate-level course in statistics. Mathematical notation generally follows that of Falconer and Mackay. (D.S. Falconer and T.F.C. Mackay. 1996. Introduction to quantitative genetics. 4th ed. Longman Group Ltd., Essex, England.) Genetic equations are derived and concise explanations in the text present their underlying concepts, but readers are referred to other specialized sources for more complex statistical equations.
This book, like other good textbooks, introduces fundamental concepts then builds upon them in subsequent sections and chapters. There are five main sections: plant breeding and population genetics, mean performance of a breeding population, variation in breeding populations, selection in breeding populations, and breeding with gene information. The section of plant breeding and populations genetics (46 pages; two chapters) begins with a general introduction and ends with the genetics of breeding populations. The general introduction includes modes of plant reproduction, population structures and types of cultivars, and breeding of self-pollinated and cross-pollinated crops. Genetics of breeding populations covers Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, its corollary assumptions (random mating, population size, selection, inbreeding, etc.), and estimating genetic relatedness with molecular markers.