Principles of Plant Breeding

Note 1: This course can not be combined in an individual programme with PBR-23306 Plant Breeding (as this is the online version of that course).
Note 2: The period mentioned below is the period in which this course starts. For the exact academic weeks see the course planning on www.wur.eu/schedule.
Note 3: This course is offered online and it takes about 20 hours to complete the weekly task. There are assignments with deadlines and non-synchronous interaction with teachers and fellow students. An online exam is offered at the end of the course.
Note 4: This is an online course, but it can also be followed by on-campus students after consultation with the course coordinator.

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:

• Explain basic concepts and principles in plant breeding
• Evaluate plant breeding selection programmes in terms of their advantages and limitations
• Choose the appropriate selection method to breed for (certain combinations of) traits
• Select the appropriate breeding strategy, taking into account the mode of reproduction of the crop of interest
• Indicate the key features, advantages and challenges in the production of F1 hybrid cultivars
• Analyse observations to separate genetic and non-genetic components of variation, including estimation of heritability  
• Discuss the consequences of chimerism in mutants, and the implications of ploidy differences in breeding material

Assumed Knowledge:

Mendelian genetics.

The exam takes place using Remote Proctoring, which is different than digital examinations on-campus. Students unfamiliar with this system should carefully test it beforehand by following all directions given via the Student Support "screen steps" instructions (https://wur-studentsupport.screenstepslive.com/m/106158/c/365541).