One of the great mysteries in plant biology is how, given the clouds of pollen released by dozens of plant species all at the ...

AMES, Iowa – The immense number of possible hybrids that can be created from inbred corn plants can leave plant breeders wondering where to start when attempting to produce new crop varieties with ...

Crop breeding for higher yields may be unintentionally reducing the beneficial microorganisms that help plants absorb ...

Unlike conventional farming methods, participatory plant breeding allows farmers to make their own decisions on which seeds to plant and thereby become part of the evolutionary process. The five ...

As erratic rain and heat stress disrupt planting and harvests, Prof. Margaret Smith, plant breeding and genetics, believes hybrids, genetic diversity and adaptive management must work together to ...

AMES, Iowa – An Iowa State University agronomist has helped uncover the genetic mechanisms in sorghum plants that allow hybrids to perform better than parent varieties, a process known as heterosis.

A common strategy to create high-yielding plants is hybrid breeding. However, getting the inbred lines in the first place can be a hassle. In maize, the use of so-called 'haploid inducers' provides a ...

I was looking through a recently received seed catalog and noticed that some varieties are designated as F-1 hybrid varieties. I also noticed that they are usually higher priced than nonhybrids. Are ...