July 19, 2011

UNL's Department of Agronomy and Horticulture is offering four plant breeding mini-courses for noncredit professional development, allowing working professionals to further their education and career goals without leaving their homes.  Students can participate in lectures in real time or view archived lectures online.

Instructors are:

• Stephen Baenziger, professor and first faculty member to hold the Nebraska Wheat Growers Presidential Chair
• Thomas Hoegemeyer, professor of practice and former CEO of Hoegemeyer Hybrids

Courses

Self-Pollinated Crop Breeding  (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22, 2011)
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.

Germplasm and Genes (Sept. 27 - Nov. 1, 2011)
Course focuses on the importance of creating the necessary genetic variation resources for conventional and modern plant breeding programs.

Crosspollinated Crop Breeding (Nov. 3 - Dec. 8, 2011)
Course emphasizes standard breeding methods and theories associated with population movement of crosspollinated crops and self-pollinated crops that are forced to cross-pollinate.

Advanced Plant Breeding Topics (Feb. 7 - March 8, 2012)
This year’s topic is “Genotype by Environment Interaction.” Students will learn about the phenotypic plasticity of genotypes as they develop in different environments, and how this impacts plant production and improvement.

These are graduate-level courses that assume a basic familiarity with genetics.

Registration

The cost for noncredit registration is $150 per course.  Special package pricing is availble for multiple courses.

For more information or to register,

• visit go.unl.edu/cropbreeding,
• view the program flyer, or
• contact

Cathy Dickinson
Dept. of Agronomy and Horticulture
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
377P Plant Sciences Hall
Lincoln, NE 68583
402.472.1730
cdickinson2@unl.edu