Review for Final Organic Seed John Navazio Organic

Review for Final Organic Seed John Navazio Organic Seed Alliance

Self-Pollinated Species • Why don’t they get inbreeding depression? • Can they be selected narrowly? • When growing seed and selecting to type how narrow can one go? Why? • What are the advantages of selecting widely? Why? How do you accomplish it? • What are the advantages of selecting widely? Contrast this type of selection for a seed grower/saver/plant breeder.

Cross-Pollinated Species • Why are crossers more apt to get inbreeding depression? How can one avoid inbreeding depression? • What are the consequences of selecting too narrowly? Why? • If you grow seed of a crosser w out doing selection what are the possible outcomes? • What the kind of population sizes that you must start with to have a healthy crosser if; a) biennial b) the variety has “problems”, c) the variety is stable, or d) the variety is a Cucurbit?

Isolation Distances • Is there such a thing as an absolute isolation distance? Why or why not? • What are the circumstances under which less isolation distance is adequate? • What are the circumstances under which more isolation distance is adequate? • What species require more isolation? • What species require less? Why?

Conducting Trials • What are the reasons for doing trials? • When should trials be conducted? • What type of varieties should always be included in trials? • What environments should trials be conducted in? How often? When? • How can trials benefit your seed growing activities?

Diseases of Crops • Contrast and compare Horizontal Resistance (HR) and Vertical Resistance (VR) to diseases. Be specific with advantages vs. disadvantages of both. • Why have commercial breeders embraced VR, despite its shortcomings? • Why is HR so well suited to organics? • Why are the genetics of HR more appropriate for population selection?