Rye: Genetics, Breeding&cultivation

Description: Owing to its considerable winter hardiness, rye is a cereal that played a major role in the feeding of European populations throughout the Middle Ages. Recent data shows that rye is grown on about 5.4 million hectares, with a world production of approximately 13 million tons. While still an important bread food in many countries, rye produced for bread making has decreased or stagnated, whereas production is increasing for other market segments. Particularly, rye for feeding, ethanol processing, and biogas is promoted in Europe. The first comprehensive monograph on rye, Rye: Genetics, Breeding, and Cultivation gathers all the relevant and historic information from botany and genetics to utilization and sustainability of rye. The book covers taxonomy, morphology, and other botany-related aspects of rye. It describes its physiology, cytology, and genetics, including use for genetic improvement of other cereals. The author addresses various types of breeding such as population, hybrid, and molecular breeding. He also discusses rye cropping, including seeding techniques, fungal and viral diseases, and predators. The book examines the various uses for rye beyond bread making. This includes feeding, biomass and biogas production, ethanol production, and other important characteristics such as phytosterol content and antioxidant activity. It also explores the nutritional value of rye. Written by a leading expert in the field, this monograph compiles the most important facets of rye research, past and present.

Contents: Introduction Botany Origin Taxonomy and Cytotaxonomy Gross Morphology Root System Seeds Flowering, Fertilization, and Apomixis Rye Genebanks and Collections Physiology Life Cycle Cold Tolerance Drought Tolerance Nutrition In Vitro Behavior Preharvest Sprouting Vernalization Cytology Genome Structure Chromosome Number Karyotype and Homeology Chromosome Pairing Sporogenesis Primary Aneuploids Reciprocal Translocations Genetic Donor for Other Crops Genetics Nomenclature and Designation of Genes General Chromosomal and/or Regional Localization of Genes and Markers Linkages QTL Mapping Physical Mapping Comparative Mapping Gene Regulation DNA and Gene Transfer Cytoplasm, Cytoplasmic Male Sterility, and Restorer Cytoplasm Alloplasmic Rye Breeding Diploid Rye Tetraploid Rye Dual-Purpose Rye Breeding Activities, Varieties, and Institutions Worldwide Rye Cropping No-Till Rye Seeding Diseases, Susceptibility, and Resistance Growth Regulators Incorporation in Crop Rotation Allelopathic Effects Volunteering Allergenic Pollen Utilization Nutritional Value Feeding Bread Making Biomass and Biogas Production Catch Crop Ethanol Production Other Uses Epilogue References Index

Author Biography: Rolf H. J. Schlegel, PhD, DSc, is a professor of cytogenetics and plant breeding with over 40 years of experience in research and teaching advanced genetics and plant breeding in Germany and Bulgaria. Professor Schlegel has authored more than 200 research papers and other scientific contributions, co-coordinated international research projects, and been a scientific consultant at the Bulgarian Academy of Agricultural Sciences for several years. He earned his master's in agriculture and plant breeding and his PhD and DSc in genetics and cytogenetics from the Martin Luther University, Halle/S., Germany. His latest book contributions include Dictionary of Plant Breeding (2009), 2nd ed. (Taylor & Francis, Inc., New York), Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement: Institutions, Persons, Theories, Methods, and Histories (2007) (Haworth Press, New York).