July 27, 2007

Available on Campus or the Internet

This fall UNL's Department of Agronomy and Horticulture will offer three mini-courses for crop breeders, seed industry personnel, producers and other agribusiness professionals. Each course is available for UNL academic credit, noncredit professional development or CEU credit. Students will have the option of choosing whether they want to attend class in person on UNL's East Campus or take it by distance.

For more information and to view informational videos for the courses, please visit the Agronomy and Horticulture Distance Education and Life-Long Learning Program Web site at: http://www.agronomy.unl.edu/prospective/distanceed.html, or contact Cathy Dickinson, cdickinson2@unl.edu, 402-472-1730. Individuals interested in taking any of the courses for noncredit or CEU credit can register online at the ADEC eStore at: https://estore.adec.edu.

Course Details

Self-Pollinated Crop Breeding

Dates: August 28 - September 27; 4 p.m.-5:20 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays
Location: Students can attend a traditional class on the UNL East Campus or participate via the Internet. The resident class section will meet in 272 Plant Sciences Building.
Instructor: Dr. P. Stephen Baenziger (pbaenziger1@unl.edu)
Description: This course covers the common breeding methods used to improve self-pollinated crops, such as wheat, rice and barley, and the theoretical basis for self-pollinated crop breeding. Students learn standard breeding methods and the theories associated with self-pollinated and inbred cross-pollinated crops, specifically, pedigree, bulk, single-seed descent and backcross breeding methods.
Cost: For noncredit participants, cost is $150 if payment is received by August 21; $200 thereafter. Fee includes parking permit for students attending class on campus. Regular UNL tuition and fees apply for academic students.

Germplasm and Genes

Dates: October 2 - November 6, 4 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays
Location: Students can attend a traditional class on the UNL East Campus or participate via the Internet. The resident class section will meet in 272 Plant Sciences Building on the UNL East Campus in Lincoln.
Instructor: Dr. P. Stephen Baenziger (pbaenziger1@unl.edu)
Description: This course focuses on genetic variation, the driving force behind crop plant breeding efforts. Students will learn about the world's great centers of crop diversity, where plant breeders obtain germplasm and genes from cultivated plants and their wild relatives. Modern biotechnology's ability to move genes from one species to another is discussed as the newest way to create genetic variation. The course also covers the creation of the necessary variation of genetic resources for conventional and modern plant breeding programs.
Cost: For noncredit participants, cost is $150 if payment is received by September 25; $200 thereafter. Fee includes parking permit for students attending class on campus. Regular UNL tuition and fees apply for academic students.

Cross-Pollinated Crop Breeding

Dates: November 8 - December 13; 4 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays
Location: Students can attend a traditional class on the UNL East Campus or participate via the Internet. The resident class section will meet in 272 Plant Sciences Building.
Instructor: Dr. P. Stephen Baenziger and/or Dr. W. Ken Russell (pbaenziger1@unl.edu, krussell3@unl.edu)
Description: This course emphasizes standard breeding methods and theories associated with population movement of cross-pollinated crops (e.g., corn, alfalfa, sunflowers and forage grasses) and self-pollinated crops that are forced to cross-pollinate. Students learn about creating populations, recurrent selection methods with and without progeny tests, and hybrid production practices. Topics will include the common breeding methods used in improving cross-pollinated crops and the theoretical basis for cross-pollinated crop breeding.
Cost: For noncredit participants, cost is $150 if payment is received by November 1; $200 thereafter. Fee includes parking permit for students attending class on campus. Regular UNL tuition and fees apply for academic students.