Plant breeding essentials in one week

About this course

Building on the success of our Dutch and international training courses on plant breeding, and our extensive cooperation with the international seed industry we can provide a course which gives good insight both in the theory and its application in breeding.

This 4 days course provides you with a concise overview of essential principles of plant genetics, plant selection, variety development, resistance breeding and supporting techniques, such as molecular markers, mutation breeding and cell biology techniques.

Course goals

This course develops the skills and abilities of current breeding employees to work more independently and for researchers to better understand the implications of their own research for plant breeders.

For who?

Meant for plant breeders who collaborate with plant breeders.

The course is aimed for Assistant breeders, junior breeders and researchers in plant breeding companies that are involved in plant breeding programs, but who lack the theoretical background in plant breeding. Breeders that are interested in a refresher course or would like to broaden their expertise could also join this course.

What can you expect?

Day 1: Botany, genetics and plant breeding

Sexual and asexual reproduction
Genetic material, genes and chromosomes
Mitosis and meiosis
Mendelian genetics, linkage, epistasis, multiple alleles, cytoplasmatic inheritance
Introduction to Plant breeding

Day 2 en 3: Plant breeding continued

Genetic resources and recombination
Polyploidy, Interspecific hybridisation, introgression, Repeated backcross
Selection, Quantitative characteristics
Resistance breeding
Breeding vegetative propagated crops
Breeding self-pollinated crops, line development
Breeding open pollinated crops
Principle of hybrids
General and specific combining ability, developing of hybrid varieties
Seed production in hybrids (male sterility, female lines, incompatibility)
Intellectual property

Day 4: Variety testing and statistics, laboratory techniques, biotechnology

Cell biology based techniques: tissue culture, doubled haploids
DNA based techniques:
- Marker assisted breeding (Principles, techniques, application)
- Mutagenesis
- Genome editing and genetic modification

Requirements

Employees have at least a BSc. preferably in agriculture or molecular biology and some knowledge of genetics. This course is also suitable for employees with a MSc degree without breeding. If you do not have or you want to refresh your knowledge of plant genetics, you can follow as a preparation of this course the online course plant genetics. The course material is at bachelor + level.

Language

The course is offered completely in English.

What can you expect?

Duration of the course in the Netherlands (excl. online part): one intensive course week.

Day 1: February 7 2023
Day 2: February 8 2023
Day 3: February 9 2023
Day 4: February 10 2023

Certification

After successful completion of the program , you will receive a certificate of HAS University of applied sciences and Breedwise.

Lecturers

Mrs. Idy van Leeuwen, MSc
dr Emile Clerkx
dr Mark van de Wouw PhD