Crop Breeding and Genetics

Crop breeding has an impressive record in lifting agricultural productivity and encompasses a broad range of technologies and capabilities. However, productivity is facing major political, sociological and environmental challenges and in many regions of the world productivity growth is stagnating. In recent years, we have seen a major expansion in our ability to manage and interpret data, in the throughput and accuracy of phenotyping methods and in our utilisation of information on gene and genome structure and function. These advances have opened new opportunities to accelerate the rates of genetic gain that can be achieved in plant breeding programs and are playing major roles in addressing future food security demands. In this section we seek to support the crop improvement community by publishing articles that cover the full breadth of innovations around genetics and breeding. This includes:

• Breeding strategies and methodologies
• Phenotyping technologies
• Advances in the trait and data analysis in both controlled and field environments
• Analysis and use of genetic diversity
• The genetic analysis of major traits
• Analysis of gene structure and function
• Development and utilisation of genomics technologies