I. Roles of plant breeding in horticultural production
1. Introduction
2. Objectives, decisions and plant breeding plans
3. Needed traits in horticultural breeding
4. Procedures of plant breeding
5. Sciences related to plant breeding
6. Cultivar
7. The general patterns of mainstream plant breeding
8. Agencies engaged in plant breeding
9. Conclusions (Challenges ahead )

II. Evolutionary process
1. General
2. Geography of crop evolution
3. Neo-Darwinism evolution
4. Diagram of crop evolution

III. Reproduction in horticultural plants
1. Types of reproduction
2. Flower structure and timing
3. Self-pollinated crops
4. Cross-pollinated crops
5. Often cross-fertilization crops
6. Male sterility
7. Incompatibility
8. Apomixis
9. Determination of modes of reproduction

IV. Plant genetic resources and conservation
1. Importance of genetic diversity
2. Centers of origins
3. Utilization based on sources of germplasm
4. Evaluation, conservation, and utilization of plant genetic resources
5. Plant introduction

V. Statistical applications and field plot technique in plant breeding
1. Normal distribution
2. Measurement of variability
3. Field plot techniques
4. Statistical techniques to detect genetic variation

VI. Quantitative inheritance
1. Quantitative vs. qualitative traits
2. Transgressive segregation
3. Characteristics of multiple gene inheritance
4. Measurement of Continuous variation
5. Number of genes contributing to a quantitative character
6. Modes of gene action
7. Heritability estimates
8. Selection intensity and genetic advance
9. Realized heritability
10. Gene frequency and genetic equilibrium
11. General combing ability vs. specific combining ability


VII. Plant breeding system
1. Inbred Pure Line (IBL)
2. Open-pollinated Population (OPP)
3. Hybrid
4. Clone

VIII. Pure line breeding
1. selection under self-fertilization
2. Johanssen “ Pure line” theory
3. Pure line breeding

First Midterm

IX. Mass selection
1. Definition
2. Mass selection of self-fertilization plants
3. Mass selection of cross-fertilization plants
4. Descriptions of selection methods
5. Using a progeny test
6. Observation in mass selection

X. Pedigree breeding system
1. Steps in the pedigree system
2. Early generation selection
3. Considerations in pedigree system
4. Variation of the pedigree system
5. Observations in pedigree breeding

XI. Bulk breeding methods
1. Description and application
2. Considerations in natural selection
3. Natural selection in segregation bulk population
4. Comparisons
5. Observations in bulk breeding

XII. Single-seed-descent
1. Descriptions of SSD
2. Considerations
3. Comparisons among pedigree, bulk, and SSD

XIII. Backcross breeding
1. Descriptions of backcross breeding methods
2. Theory of BC
3. Considerations of a backcross breeding
4. Applications of backcross breeding methods

XIV. Synthetic cultivar
1. Breeding system of synthetic cultivar development
2. Layout of the polycross in the field
3. Performance of synthetic cultivar
4. Advantages and disadvantages

XV. Recurrent selection
1. Recurrent selection scheme
2. Type of testers and results of selection
3. Reciprocal recurrent selection
4. Use of populations developed by recurrent selection

XVI. Feedback

Scores：80﹪exam(2 exams)＋20﹪others