Eager to know the process used to develop and release or commercialize a new hybrid?

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Agronomy and Horticulture’s Introduction to Hybrid Breeding workshop is set for Wednesday, July 31 and Thursday, Aug. 1 in the Goodding Learning Center, 280 Plant Sciences Hall on UNL’s East Campus.

This workshop is designed to give the non-hybrid breeder, or any other interested individual, with an introductory overview of a hybrid breeding program. Participants will be introduced to basic terminology and an overview of the structure and complexity of a comprehensive hybrid breeding program for which the end goal is release or commercialization of a genetically improved hybrid cultivar.

Participants will also spend time in the university’s maize breeding nursery, where they will see how the described components translate into actual breeding materials within a plant breeding nursery. The workshop emphasizes a strong industry perspective, based on the maize breeding model.

“Hybrid breeding may seem mystical and complicated but in this workshop the process will be broken into a series of less complicated steps,” said Blaine Johnson, agronomy and horticulture professor of practice and workshop leader. “We will explain and demonstrate hybrid breeding, making the process understandable for the non-plant breeder as well as the plant breeder. Decisions, decisions, seed, seed, it is all about making decisions and generating seed each step of the way.”

Additional workshop leaders include Department of Agronomy and Horticulture graduate students Lorena Dumbá, Garrett Snodgrass and Akashdeep Kambj.

More information and registration available on the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture site.