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Manual on Mutation Breeding

Year of publication 2018

Place of publication Vienna, Austria ;

Pages 319 p.

Author Spencer-Lopes, M.M. ; Forster, B.P. ; Jankuloski, L. (eds.)

Publisher FAO and IAEA ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Category Manual / guide

ISBN 978-92-5-130526-3

Edition 3

Synopsis (short abstract) The 2nd edition of Manual on Mutation Breeding (MMB) was published in 1977. After nearly 40 years it is necessary to update Member States (MSs) with current knowledge in practical plant mutation breeding methods and to provide a comprehensive overview and guidelines for crop improvement using induced mutation and mutation breeding techniques. In 1977 there were 106 IAEA Member States, and as of March 2015 there are 164 MSs. The irradiation services for mutation induction in plant breeding has risen proportionally with the number of MSs. Therefore, the interest for mutation breeding has been increasing. There are now over 3222 mutant varieties released worldwide in over 200 crop species, as compared to 571 mutant varieties in 84 crop species in 1977. Plant mutation breeding continues to be an active area for crop improvement. Plant mutation breeding is under-going a renaissance with new methods and wide application to more crop species in which it can provide shortcuts in developing new mutant varieties. This is particularly relevant in safeguarding food security and is required to meet environmental challenges caused by climate change (resistance to pest and diseases and tolerance to abiotic stresses).

Language English

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