PLSCI 6090

Perennial Crop Breeding Seminar

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025.

Perennial crops are critical components of sustainable farming systems, and have many environmental benefits including increased biodiversity, water quality, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, productivity, and resilience. Due to the biology of these species, plant breeders seeking to develop perennial crop cultivars face a unique set of challenges and opportunities. This course examines a wide range of perennial crop breeding programs and discusses tools available to breeders, decision-making in perennial crop breeding programs, and opportunities for plant breeding to enhance sustainability and perenniality in cropping systems.

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: PLSCI 6030 or equivalent.

Course Attribute (CU-SBY)

Comments Offered in odd-number years only.

• Describe the significance of perennial crops in agriculture and food systems in the US and globally.
• Examine traits that are important targets for genetic improvement of perennial crops and the genetics that control perenniality.
• Analyze the unique challenges faced perennial crop breeding and the range of breeding methods used for these plants.
• Describe the importance of perennial crop improvement in addressing environmental challenges and their role in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
• Synthesize and interpret scientific literature on perennial crop breeding.

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