August 4, 2010

The UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture is offering four plant breeding mini-courses this fall and in spring 2011 for seed industry personnel, producers, and other agribusiness professionals. The first of the four — Self-Pollinated Crop Breeding — begins August 24. Timely registration will assure that online resources are available from the start of the class. 

The courses are available via distance delivery, so participants can further their educational and professional development goals without having to be in a traditional classroom. Students can participate in lectures in real time or view archived lectures online. The courses are available for noncredit professional development, as well as regular academic credit at UNL. These are graduate-level courses that assume basic familiarity with genetics.

Instructors are Stephen Baenziger, Eugene W. Price Distinguished Professor, and Thomas Hoegemeyer, Professor of Practice and former CEO of Hoegemeyer Hybrids. Following is the full class schedule.

Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 Courses

Self-Pollinated Crop Breeding: August 24 –September 23, 2010
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: September 28 – November 2, 2010
Course focuses on the importance of creating the necessary genetic variation resources for conventional and modern plant breeding programs.

Cross-Pollinated Crop Breeding: November 4 – December 9, 2010
Course emphasizes standard breeding methods and theories associated with population movement of cross-pollinated crops and self-pollinated crops that are forced to cross-pollinate.

Advanced Plant Breeding Topics – Doubled Haploidy: February 1 – March 3, 2011
Course will focus on techniques for producing Doubled Haploids in several crops; advantages and uses of DHs in genetic analyses; impacts of DH on selection, breeding methods; and variety and hybrid development.

Registration and Information

The noncredit registration fee for each course is $150. Special package pricing is available for multiple courses. For more information, visit the course website or contact Cathy Dickinson, UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, at (402) 472-1730 or email cdickinson2@unl.edu . Credit card registrations can be made at: go.unl.edu/cropbreeding.  Also see the course handout.