Mutation Breeding: Theory and Practical Applications

During the 1970s and 1980s, the technique of mutation breeding made a substantial, although often poorly recognized, contribution to crop improvement. Later, as the techniques of molecular biology become more widely adopted by plant breeders, this comprehensive summary sets mutation breeding in that context and relates it to other breeding techniques, including those most recently developed. The book opens with a general introduction to plant breeding and a review of the development of mutation breeding, including consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of the technique. Chapters covering the underlying theory are followed by sections which consider more practical aspects such as in vitro techniques, techniques used for seed propagated crops and techniques used for vegetatively propagated crops. Case studies and examples are included throughout and a list of almost 1400 references provides a valuable resource for those new to the field.

Table of Contents:
Preface; 1. General introduction; 2. History of mutation breeding; 3. Nature and types of mutation; 4. Induction of mutations; 5. In vitro techniques for mutation breeding; 6. Mutation breeding in seed propagated crops; 7. Mutation breeding in vegetatively propagated crops; References; Index.

Review :
'The book will be much desired on the shelf of young undergraduate and graduate geneticists and plant breeders. There is also no doubt that everyone who has been working on application of induced mutations in crop breeding programmes will read this book with great pleasure, admiring its attractive style of presentation and the enormous amount of well organized data on the golden age of mutation breeding.' Heredity 'This book delivers everything promised in its title, and much more. Advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and research scientists will find this book an interesting and comprehensive treatment of mutation and mutation breeding ... it should be enjoyable and productive reading for anyone interested in plant genetics and breeding.' Edwin Bingham, Crop Science 'All in all, the author is to be commended for bringing together information from diverse sources and presenting it in readable form, so that a breeder contemplating the use of mutation breeding procedures has the wherewithal to make a rational decision.' Edward J. Ryder, Horticultural Science '... it was a pleasure to read this book. It offers a large amount of information about mutation breeding in a well-balanced presentation. I recommend this book not only to breeders, but also to geneticists, who will profit from reading it.' F. Siegemund