Suggestions for books/articles on Vegetable Genetics?

[Day]

I had trouble figuring out which board to put this thread on, and this seemed like the best fit. My apologies if anyone feels it is miscategorized.

--

I've found (not surprisingly) that it can be very difficult to understand what's going on with your plant breeding experiments unless you also have an understanding of the genetics involved. I know many of you on this forum work in agriculture, genetics, plant breeding, biology, etc., or have some formal education in similar fields. Others of you have years of experience in plant breeding, or keen observation skills and deductive reasoning. This combination of skill sets it one of the reasons this forum is so valuable.

I'm hoping, our powers combined, we might be able to create a casual 'bibliography' - a list of books, articles, etc., that we each have personally found helpful in learning and understanding. They can be text books you read in college, articles you stumbled across online, or the newest release in scientific research. They do not have to be free or have free access, though those would be undoubtedly helpful.

There won't be any formal order to this, and it doesn't need to by fancy, just figured having a thread to suggest what worked (or didn't work for you) would be helpful to a lot of us. Feel free to add whatever you see fit. Though I use the word 'vegetable genetics' a lot, feel free to suggest resources on flowers, herbs, trees, etc.

Here are two examples of resources that have greatly helped me, and that I continue to find use for:


CORN - alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/8128/gmo-corn-genetics-pictures
Don't let the title fool you; there is GMO talk, but that isn't the heart of the thread really. I'd already read Carol Deppe's first book at the time I found this thread, but this person-to-person exchange was extremely helpful to me. It helped reconcile what I'd learned in her book with some of my linger questions regarding the nitty gritty of aluerones, maternal pericarp, etc.
SKILL LEVEL - Slightly above basic knowledge of corn biology and genetic inheritance would be ideal. This is not a start-to-finish primer on corn genetics, but rather a very effective 'filling in of the gaps.' It is casual, with some tangents, but nevertheless a very useful resource.

CUCUMBER - cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cgc/cgc3334/cgc3334-23.pdf
I found this resource when I decided to start a cucumber breeding project and wanted to know which traits were dominant so I could determine if a cross had been successful. Most of the article (starting about pg. 17) is actually a list of traits, which is fantastic for quick searching if you're just looking to see if black spines is dominant over white spines, or vice versa.
SKILL LEVEL - I'll admit, there is gene talk here goes right over my head. For full comprehension of the article, I think you'd need a very good understanding of genetics. But you can absolutely pull out small bits of information that are applicable to your specific breeding project, so long as you understand the basic principles of Dominant (capital letter) and recessive (lower case letter).

---

MASS LIST FROM THREAD REPLIES, I'll sort them out later by vegetable and type:


cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cgc/cgcgenes/genelists.html
alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/8327/learning-corn
www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/categories/books/
www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/coriander-coriandrum-sativum-l/
www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/genetic-resources-of-cucurbitaceae-a-global-report/
archive.org/details/b28068695

Breeding Vegetable Crops by Bassett
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/00BVC.PDF - intro
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/01BVC.PDF - sweet potatoes
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/02BVC.PDF - watermelons
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/03BVC.PDF - tomatoes
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/04BVC.PDF - peppers
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/05BVC.PDF - cucumbers 
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/06BVC.PDF - squash
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/07BVC.PDF - snap beans
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/08BVC.PDF - peas
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/09BVC.PDF - carrots
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/10BVC.PDF - onions
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/11BVC.PDF - cabbage
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/12BVC.PDF - lettuce
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/13BVC.PDF - sweet corn
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/14BVC.PDF - asparagus
faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/99BVC.PDF - index

Return to Resistance, Raoul Robinson (freethebees.ch/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Return-to-Resistance.pdf)


books

Evolution of Crop Plants edited by N.W. Simmonds, Longman, London, 1976
The Lost Art of Potato Breeding, by Rebsie Fairholm, 2013
Plant Population Genetics, Breeding, and Genetic Resources, Brown
Plant Genes, Genomes, and Genetics, Grotewold
Plant Physiology, Taiz
An Introduction to Plant Structure and Development, Beck
Plant Form, Bell
Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, Baskin
Hybrid : the history and science of plant breeding, Kingsbury, Noel, University of Chicago Press 2009



other

www.youtube.com/user/plantbreedgenomics

[rowan]

Your cuke.hort.nscu.edu link also has trait lists for other cucurbits which I have found very handy: cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cgc/cgcgenes/genelists.html

[reed]

There are some links in this tread alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/8327/learning-corn that you might find of interest. I have some more concerning corn and sweet potatoes saved on my computer. I'll try to tack them down and post links. Although they are specific to those crops I think a lot of it applies generally. 

[Day]

rowan - oh hey! I read your blog! Haha I had no idea that was you, but I saw the link in your signature (it's broken, just a heads up) and recognized the name. I always find it fun to see what you write because of our opposite seasons. My summer, your winter, etc. I've been waiting for you last update since what feels like forever, and I'm glad you're finally able to start revving up for the season! Even if only in small ways.

EDIT: I didn't even see the one you posted today! Off to read

And seriously, thank you sooooo much for pointing out that they had additional links! Normally I backtrack and scour the source website for other info, but I found this on google and the 'website' went straight to pdf., so I guess it escaped my primitive mind that it probably wasn't a stand alone article. I will literally be reading these all night xD I've been seeking something exactly like this for squash and melons.

reed oh yea! I remember reading that one. Also a great resource. And I'd love to see what you have hidden away in your secret library xD Personally I'd be especially interested in reading more about sweet potatoes. I've never grown potatoes of any sort, as I don't like starting with tubers, bulbs, etc. Knowing that a lot of you here are working with actual potato (and sweet potato) seeds has really got me interested in perhaps trying them next season.

[rowan]

Hey thanks. I know I don't update my blog nearly enough during the winter, but there is so little to talk about this time of year when everything is basically hibernating. It won't be long before I will be posting regularly. I will check my link, thanks.

[andyb]

I stumbled across the Biodiversity International website when I was looking for information on breeding cilantro/coriander. They have a couple hundred free books, including a bunch on minor (interesting) crops.

www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/categories/books/

Here's the cilantro book: www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/coriander-coriandrum-sativum-l/
Here's one on cucurbit breeding: www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/genetic-resources-of-cucurbitaceae-a-global-report/

An interesting trick I read about for finding chewy, free information online is to include "filetype:pdf" in a google search. If you read some of the papers in this search, you'll be able to tell me how my explanation of that color-enabling gene was wrong.

www.google.com/search?q=anthocyanin+biosynthesis+pathway+filetype%3Apdf&oq=anthocyanin+biosynthesis+pathway+filetype%3Apdf&gs_l=psy-ab.3...10314.15534.0.16022.26.24.2.0.0.0.116.1171.20j2.22.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..3.0.0.rtKzK0jTwP4

[diane]

Evolution of Crop Plants edited by N.W. Simmonds, Longman, London, 1976

I don't know whether there has been any newer comprehensive book published.

He covers a lot: from Agave (sisal) to Zea (maize), temperate and tropical, fruit, vegetables, nuts, drugs (cannabis, quinine), drinks (cocoa, coffee, tea), fibres.
Not much on hardy herbs - parsley, but no coriander, though tropical spices like cloves and nutmeg are covered.

The chapters are written by specialists from universities and government research agencies, and follow the same pattern:
Cytotaxonomic Background, Early History, Recent History, Prospects, References.

[oxbowfarm]

I've found this link to be helpful to a pdf of Breeding Vegetable Crops. faculty.agron.iastate.edu/fehr/BVC/01BVC.PDF If you change the number in the section that starts - /01BVC to another digit /04, /05, etc it takes you to the next chapter. I cannot remember how I found this link and I don't know if there is more since I cannot find the menu/ sitemap. But the chapters you can reach with this method are pretty neat. No Doubt there is a better way to navigate this than retyping the chapter number in the address bar, but I'm too lazy to learn how to do so.

01 is sweet potatoes (yo reed)
02 is watermelons
03 is tomatoes
04 is peppers
05 is cucumbers
06 is squash
07 is snap beans
08 is peas
09 is carrots
10 is onions
11 is cabbage
12 is lettuce
13 is sweetcorn
14 is asparagus

[billw]

I recognize the book. It is Breeding Vegetable Crops by Bassett. Looking at my copy, it appears that you have the whole book there, minus the introduction.

[andyb]

Looks like 00 gets you the introduction.

[reed]

I printed the sweet potato chapter to add to my collection.

[keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.)]

I've tried posting some info on my blog from time to time, mostly peas, as a sort of homage to rebsies fabulous pea breeding blog (daughter of the soil), which i still like to visit from time to time. (i wish she has written a pea breeding book). My latest post was about wild tomato species.

But i still like her potato breeding book! It's awesome and i love the colorful pictures. Rebsie makes it sound so easy.

www.amazon.com/Lost-Potato-Breeding-Garden-Alchemy/dp/190801119X

[walt]

Feb 19, 2018 13:45:18 GMT -5 diane said:

Evolution of Crop Plants edited by N.W. Simmonds, Longman, London, 1976

I don't know whether there has been any newer comprehensive book published.

He covers a lot: from Agave (sisal) to Zea (maize), temperate and tropical, fruit, vegetables, nuts, drugs (cannabis, quinine), drinks (cocoa, coffee, tea), fibres.
Not much on hardy herbs - parsley, but no coriander, though tropical spices like cloves and nutmeg are covered.

The chapters are written by specialists from universities and government research agencies, and follow the same pattern:
Cytotaxonomic Background, Early History, Recent History, Prospects, References.

Diane.  That is one of my favorite all-time books.  I lost my copy during a move, and replaced it with a later edition where there is a co-editor.  Same name though.  Actually I liked the first edition better, though the second covers a few more crops.

[billw]

Some of the most used general references on my bookshelf:

Plant Population Genetics, Breeding, and Genetic Resources, Brown
Plant Genes, Genomes, and Genetics, Grotewold
Plant Physiology, Taiz
An Introduction to Plant Structure and Development, Beck
Plant Form, Bell
Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, Baskin

More of my most used books are crop specific.

[keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.)]

I have a hardback copy of Breeding and the Mendelian discovery by A. D. Darbishire, printed in 1911. It's a really good book. Mostly about pea genetics and mice genetics, two model organisms for genetic study. Good foundation and basic principles, but in decent depth for those more interested.

Here is an online source. Various download options, including PDF.

archive.org/details/b28068695