Plant Breeding and Genetics is a paper in the series on The Need for Agricultural Innovation to Sustainably Feed the World by 2050. Humans depend on plants for food, feed, fiber, and fuel—as well as less tangible aspects of life such as aesthetics and environmental stability. This paper is the first in a series that connects science and technology to agriculture, and it focuses on the critical importance of innovation in plant breeding to meet the challenge of providing food and nutritional security to humankind. Key areas covered include (1) the science of plant breeding and genetics; (2) the need for encouraging the next generation of scientists; (3) the current role of government policy and regulations; and (4) the need for cooperation and collaboration at all levels, including the public-private nexus. (Key Words: genetic technologies, genetic variation, phenotyping, hybridization, molecular biology, regulatory oversight, genomics, haploidy, cultivar)

Co-chairs: P. Stephen Baenziger, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Rita H. Mumm, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. IP57, March 2017, 24 pp. Available free online and in print (fee for shipping/handling).

Publication Impact Report (Final) – March 2019