Presents reviews on plant genetics and the breeding of almost all types of crops by both traditional means and molecular methods. The emphasis of this series is on methodology, a fundamental understanding of crop genetics, and applications to major crops. It is a serial title that appears in the form of one or two volumes per year.

"Plant Breeding Reviews" presents state-of-the-art reviews on plant genetics and the breeding of all types of crops by both traditional means and molecular methods. Many of the crops widely grown today stem from a very narrow genetic base; understanding and preserving crop genetic resources is vital to the security of food systems worldwide. The emphasis of the series is on methodology, a fundamental understanding of crop genetics, and applications to major crops. It is a serial title that appears in the form of one or two volumes per year.

Contributors.1. Dedication: Fredrick A. Bliss Teacher, Researcher, and Director of Plant Breeding (Thomas C. Osborn).2. Sugarcane Improvement through Breeding and Biotechnology (Ray Ming, Paul H. Moore, Kuo-Kao Wu, Angelique D'Hont, Jean C. Glaszmann, Thomas L. Tew, T. Erik Mirkov, Jorge da Silva, John Jifon, Mamta Rai, Raymond J. Schnell, Stevens M. Brumbley, Prakash Lakshmanan, Jack C. Comstock, and Andrew H. Paterson).I. Introduction.II. Sugarcane Breeding.III. Sugarcane Improvement Through Biotechnology.Literature Cited.3. Breeding for Resistance to Maize Foliar Pathogens (Richard C. Pratt and Stuart G. Gordon).I. Introduction.II. Diseases Incited by Fungal Pathogens.III. Diseases Incited by Viral Pathogens.IV. Diseases Incited by Bacterial Pathogens.V. Summary.Literature Cited.4. Synteny in the Rosaceae (Pere Arus, Toshiya Yamamoto, Elisabeth Dirlewanger, and Albert G. Abbott).I. Introduction.II. Genetic Maps in the Main Rosaceae Species.III. Map Comparisons.IV. Other Genetic Resources of Interest for Map Comparison.V. Future Prospects.Literature Cited.5. Genetic Mapping and Molecular Breeding in Cucurbits (Yi-Hong Wang, Ralph A. Dean, and Tarek Joobeur).I. Introduction.II Classic Genetic Maps.III. Molecular Genetic Maps.IV. Gene Tagging.V. QTL Mapping.VI. Molecular Breeding.VII. Gene Cloning.VIII. Cucurbit Genomics.IX. Future Prospects.Literature Cited.6. Breeding Douglas-Fir (Glenn T. Howe, Keith Jayawickrama, Marilyn Cherry, G. R. Johnson, and Nicholas C. Wheeler).I. Abbreviations.II. Introduction.III. Distinctive Characteristics of Forest Trees.IV. Douglas-Fir: The Species.V. Factors That Influence Douglas-Fir Breeding.VI. Breeding Goals and Objectives.VII. Overview of Tree Breeding Methods.VIII. Breeding Programs.IX. Breeding and Testing Methods.X. Production of Improved Materials for Reforestation.XI. Biotechnology.XII. Gene Conservation.XIII. Acknowledgments.Literature Cited.Subject Index.Cumulative Subject Index.Cumulative Contributor Index.