Plant Breeding 100 Hours Certificate Course

1 There are 7 lessons

• Modern Plant Breeding
• The Plant Breeding Industry
• Sources of Genetic Material: Germplasm Preservation, Botanic Gardens, Plant Breeding and Research Institutions, Wild Populations
• Terminology

2 Introduction to Genetics

• Cells and Genes (An Overview): Plant Cells, Chromosomes, Genes
• Linkage and Crossing Over
• DNA: Homologous Chromosomes
• Cells: Cell Components, The Cell Wall, The Nucleus
• Protein Synthesis
• Plant Genetics: Mendel’s Principles
• Terminology: Mendel’s Experiment, Linkages of Genes

3 Gamete Production, Pollination and Fertilisation in Plants

• Plant Reproduction: Phases of Plant Reproduction
• Gamete Production
• Gene Mutations
• Sources of Genetic Variation: Polyploidy, Bud Sports and Chimeras
• Male Sterility
• Effect of the Environment
• Terminology
• The Use of Pollination Biology in Plant Breeding: The Process of Pollination, Requirements for Successful Pollination, Cross pollination, Determining the Stage of Pollination Failure, Fertilisation, Embryo and Seedling Formation, Male and Female Recognition, Methods of Overcoming Incompatibility, Post fertilisation, Pollen Selection
• Floral Induction: Pollination, Fruit Set, Growth and Development
• Mitosis and Meiosis
• Genes
• Summary of Terms
• Sexual Structures in Plants: Flower Structures, Fruit Structures, Seed Structures

4 Mono Hybrid and Dihybrid Inheritance in Plants

• Monohybrid and Dihybrid Crosses: Linkage of Genes, Crossing Over and Recombination, Crossing Over, Recombination
• Quantitative Traits
• Terminology

5 Systematic Botany and Floral Structures

• Systematic Botany
• Plant Morphology
• Type Specimens
• Terminology
• The History of Organised Botanical Nomenclature: International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, Principle of Priority, Plant and Animal Nomenclature
• Plant Taxonomy: The Binomial System, Botanical Classification, Plant Families and Species, Hybrids, Varieties and Cultivars, Changes in Names, Nomenclature of Hybrids
• Terminology
• Botanical Keys: How to Use a Botanical Key, Key to Plant Phyla

7 Practical Plant Breeding Techniques

• Plant Breeding Programs
• Breeding Self-Pollinated Crops: Pure-line Breeding, Mass Selection, Pedigree Breeding, Bulk Population Breeding, Backcross Breeding
• Breeding Cross-Pollinated Crops: Single Plant Selection, Mass Selection, Progeny Selection, Line Breeding, Recurrent Selection, Backcross Breeding, Induced Polyploidy
• Hybrid Seed Production - An Outline
• Hybridising Techniques - A Step-By-Step Program
• Terminology
• Seed Germination
• Dormancy Factors Affecting Germination: Hard Seed Covers, Chemical Inhibitors, Undeveloped Embryos, Inhibiting Seed Layers, Dormant Embryos that Respond to Chilling

8 Current Developments in Plant Genetics

• Plant Biotechnology: Genetic Engineering, DNA Markers, Somatic Hybridisation
• Micropropagation
• Plant Breeders' Rights and Trademarks: Trademarks, Patents

The quality of this course is second to none, from the in-depth learning you will get to the expert individual mentoring you will receive throughout your studies. The mentors for this course are:

Susan Stephenson

BSc in Applied Plant Biology (Botany) Univ. London 1983.

City and guilds: Garden Centre Management, Management and Interior Decor (1984)

Management qualifications in training with retail store. Diploma in Hort level 2 (RHS General) Distinction.

Susan Stephenson is a passionate and experienced horticulturist and garden designer. She has authored three books, lectures at 2 Further and Higher Education Colleges, teaching people of all ages and backgrounds about the wonders of plants and garden design, and tutors many students by correspondence from all over the world.

Susan studied botany at Royal Holloway College (Univ of London) and worked in the trading industry before returning to her first love plants and garden design. She is therefore, well placed to combine business knowledge with horticulture and design skills. Her experience is wide and varied and she has designed gardens for families and individuals. Susan is a mentor for garden designers who are just starting out, offering her support and advice and she also writes, delivers and assesses courses for colleges, introducing and encouraging people into horticulture and garden design.

In 2010, Susan authored a complete module for a Foundation degree (FDSC) in Arboriculture.

Susan holds the RHS General with Distinction. She continues to actively learn about horticulture and plants and (as her students will tell you) remains passionate and interested in design and horticulture.

Steven Whitaker

Diploma in Garden Design (Distinction) – The Blackford Centre, Gold Certificate of Achievement in Horticulture, Level 2 NVQ in Amenity Horticulture, Level 1 NOCN Introduction to Gardening, – Joseph Priestly College, BTEC Diploma in Hotel, Catering and Institutional Operations (Merit), Trainer Skills 1, & 2, Group trainer, Interview and Selection Skills – Kirby College of Further Education

Steven has a wealth of Horticultural knowledge, having ran his own Design and Build service, Landscaping company, and been a Head Gardener. His awards include five Gold awards at Leeds in Bloom, two Gold awards at Yorkshire in Bloom and The Yorkshire Rose Award for Permanent Landscaping. Steven has worked with TV’s Phil Spencer as his garden advisor on the Channel 4 TV Programme, “Secret Agent”.

He is qualified to Level 2 NVQ in Amenity Horticulture and has a Diploma in Garden Design which he passed with Distinction. Steven’s Tutor and Mentor was the Chelsea Flower Show Gold Award-winning Garden Designer, Tracy Foster. He also works for a major Horticultural Commercial Grower in the field of Propagation and Craft Gardening. Steven lives in Leeds where he is a Freelance Garden Designer and Garden Advice Consultant.