A text on the theory and practice of plant breeding. This book attempts to present a readable format on plant breeding principles and their application, based on the collective experience of the three authors, but with a heavy dependence on the scientific literature.

1 Plant Breeding: Historical Perspective 2 Reproduction in Plants 3 Genetic and Cytogenetic Structure of Plants 4 Genetic Variation in Plants., 5 Statistical Applications and Field Plot Technique in Plant 6 Hybridization and Selection in Self- and Cross-pollinated Crops 7 Mass and Pure-line Selection 8 The Pedigree System, 9 The Bulk Population Method 10 The Backcross Breeding Method 11 Single-Seed-Descent and Recurrent Selection Breeding Methods 12 Heterosis and Inbreeding in Cross-fertilized Crops 13 Selection Methods in Cross-fertilized Crops 14 Hybrid Development and Parental Selection 15 Synthetic Cultivars in Cross-fertilized Crops 16 Recurrent Selection in Cross-fertilized Crops 17 Interspecific and lntergeneric Hybridization, 18 Mutation Breeding 19 Haploid Breeding Systems 20 Asexual Breeding Systems 21 Cell and Molecular Biology Tools for Plant Breeding, 22 Commercial Hybrids in Self-fertilized Crops, 23 Cultivar Release, Seed Certification and Multiplication, and Proprietary Protection