Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species

About this book

The genetic variability that developed in plants during their evolution is the basis of their domestication and breeding into the crops grown today for food, fuel and other industrial uses. This third edition brings the subject up to date, with more emphasis on crop origins. Beginning with a description of the process of evolution in native and cultivated plants, Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species reviews the origins of crop domestication and their subsequent development over time. All major crop species are discussed, including cereals, protein plants, starch crops, fruits and vegetables, from their origins to conservation of their genetic resources for future development.

Contents

Part 1. Evolutionary Processes

1. Chromosome Structure and Genetic Variability
2. Assortment of Genetic Variability
3. The Multifactoral Genome
4. Polyploidy and Gene Duplication
5. Speciation

Part 2. Agricultural Origins and Crop Evolution

6. Origins of Agriculture
7. The Dynamics of Plant Domestication
8. Cereal Grains
9. Protein Plants
10. Starchy Staples and Sugars
11. Fruits, Vegetables, Oils and Fibers
12. Postscript: Germplasm Resources
Ex situ conservation
In situ conservation

Customer Reviews

Biography

James F. Hancock received his BS in Biology from Baldwin Wallace College (Berea, Ohio), a MS in Botany at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and a Ph.D. in Genetics at the University of California, Davis. After a short stint in the Biology Department at the University of South Carolina, he moved to Michigan State University (MSU) as an assistant professor of Horticulture, where he has been for over thirty years, being promoted to Professor in 1986. He was the Director of the Plant Breeding and Genetics Program at MSU from 2004 to 2009, and is currently the Director of the MSU Plant Biotechnology Resource Center. The emphasis of his research has been on the breeding and genetics of blueberries and strawberries, and he has published prodigiously in these areas.

His previous books have been The Strawberry and Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species, and he has edited books on The Highbush Production Guide (with Marvin Pritts), Temperate Fruit Crop Genetics: Germplasm to Genomics, and Environmental Biosafety (with Rebecca Grumet, Karim Maredia and Cholani Weebadde). He has lectured and consulted on blueberry growing and breeding in Chile, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia, Mexico Poland, Spain, Portugal and Scotland. Most notably he had a six month stay at the Universidad de Talca in 1992 on a Fulbright Fellowship to study and lecture on small fruits. He has guided the programs of about 20 graduate students and 3 post-doctoral Fellows.