Produce hardy, high-yield vegetables with hybrid seeds!From the Preface, by Amarjit S. Basra: “The phenomenon of heterosis, also referred to as 'hybrid vigor,’underlies much of the improvement in crop yields achieved in the twentieth century. The exploitation of heterosis in crop production is of vital importance in facing the challenge of providing food and nutritional security for an ever-increasing human population.“The effective use of heterosis has fostered the development of a worldwide seed industry. Rapid advances in plant breeding and associated seed production technologies have served to enhance the competitiveness of hybrids by increasing crop and seed yield per hectare, reducing the costs involved, and improving seed quality.”Hybrid Seed Production in Vegetables: Rationale and Methods in Selected Crops will help crop scientists and growers increase the quality and yield of vegetables such as: cucumbers cabbage pumpkins squash peppers onions gourds and the fruits watermelon and winter melon. This valuable book provides up-to-date research about heterosis, cultivars, hybrids, and molecular markers to help you get the most quality and quantity out of your seeds. Containing suggestions and methods for overcoming male plant sterility, inbreeding, and challenges to pollination, Hybrid Seed Production in Vegetables will help you successfully breed hybrid plants to produce bountiful and healthy crops.

A practical coverage of the principles of producing seeds for the main agricultural crops, this book emphasises producing optimal quality seed, and applies to small and large scale farms worldwide. Cereals such as wheats, rice, barley, rye and maize are covered along with pulses, legumes, oil seed rape and soybean. Coverage includes principles of production such as pollination, agronomy issues such as site selection and cultivar purity, seed processing, drying and storage. A focus on global food security is maintained throughout.

FAO, through its Seed and Plant Genetics Resources Service, is conducting a series of expert consultations, workshops and conferences to generate ideas, develop methodoligies and facilitate initiatives aimed at strengthening on-farm seed multiplication (the informal seed system) thereby adressing the seed security needs of smallhoder farmers ... .