Agriculture depends on improved cultivars, and cultivars are developed
with the aid of proper plant breeding. Unfortunately, applied plant
breeding programs that focus on cereal commodity crops are under serious
threat due to a lack of funding. This volume is designed to increase the
use of helpful genetic resources and increase awareness of the value and
impact of cereal breeding and biotechnology. This, in turn, should lead
to more sustainable crop production and ultimately food security. All
the major cereal crops--from maize to sorghum to rice--are covered, with
discussions of genetic diversity, breeding methods and techniques,
integration of new biotechnologies, and seed production in each chapter.