207-310 Horticultural Reproduction Technology

202-103 Biology for Land and Food Resources.

The objective of this subject is to extend the participant's ability to:

• understand and research the reproductive biology of horticultural plants;

• describe the major biological and environmental factors affecting a plant's capacity to produce, disperse and regenerate from seed;

• understand floral morphology and cytogenetics as appropriate to plant breeding;

• apply Mendelian genetics to plant breeding;

• describe and demonstrate the theory of plant incompatibility systems;

• describe and demonstrate specified seed testing procedures; and

• recommend and describe effective techniques for germinating seed and establishing plants from seed under nursery, field and revegetation conditions.

The content includes:

• evolution of genes and plant genomes;

• breeding systems and strategies of angiosperms;

• Mendelian inheritance;

• incompatibility systems in plants;

• F1 and pedigree breeding systems;

• pollen: stigma interactions;

• cytogenetics and cytogenetic techniques important in plant breeding;

• seed development, dispersal germination and establishment and environmental influences on these processes;

• the technology applicable to commercial seed production;

• seed testing; and

• effective techniques for sowing, germinating and establishing seed.

A two-hour examination (45%), a mid-semester test (25%), and two practical reports equivalent to 2000 words (each worth 15%).

• H T Hartmann, D E Kester, F T Davies and R L Geneve, Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices. 6th edn, Prentice Hall International, Upper Saddle River, 1997.
• A J Richards, Plant Breeding Systems. 2nd edn, Chapman and Hall, London, 1997.