块根作物

根和块茎作物编辑约翰·布拉德肖数千年前，许多根和块茎作物首次被驯化，但直到16世纪末，它们才在全球范围内变得重要。
如今，马铃薯是世界第三大粮食作物（2008年产量为3.14亿吨），仅次于小麦和水稻。木薯（233）是热带地区最重要的块根作物，在许多最贫穷的国家，木薯是主要的主食，红薯（110）也是亚洲、非洲和美洲的主食。甜菜（228种）提供了世界上大约四分之一的糖产量，来自于温带气候下种植的作物。山药（52）也是热带和亚热带地区重要的主食作物。虽然芋头和椰子是小作物，但它们确实为非洲、亚洲和美洲的穷人提供了主食。从19世纪开始，饲料甜菜、瑞典甜菜和芜菁在温带气候下成为重要的牲畜饲料，但现在它们已被谷物和青贮饲料取代，成为动物饲料的主要作物。根和块茎作物从现代育种方法和新生物技术中受益的程度反映了它们自身和近亲的经济重要性。所有这些都包括过去的成就、当前的育种目标和遗传资源的利用。这本书对植物育种的学生和专业的植物育种家都很有价值，也对任何对这组迷人的块根作物感兴趣的人都很有价值。《植物育种根茎作物手册》是一本专门介绍10种最重要的根茎作物的书，分为八章：马铃薯（茄属）、木薯（木薯）、甘薯（甘薯）、山药（薯蓣属）、芋头（芋属）和椰子（箭叶黄孢）、甜菜（甜菜）、饲料甜菜（甜菜），和瑞典人（甘蓝型油菜）和萝卜（甘蓝型油菜）。专家们对这些作物的育种有着广泛的了解，他们撰写了许多章节。为了与《植物育种手册》中的其他卷保持一致，每章分为以下几节：简介、起源和驯化、品种群（如适用）、遗传资源、主要育种成就、当前育种目标、育种方法和技术，在育种计划和种子（块茎/商业）生产中整合新的生物技术。关于编辑：约翰·布拉德肖是苏格兰作物研究所的荣誉研究员，他在那里度过了34年的植物育种和遗传学家生涯。在他的职业生涯中，他一直是欧洲植物育种研究协会（EUCARPIA）的成员，并担任土豆科的主席。他曾广泛旅行，撰写了大量关于植物育种的文章，并在多家科学期刊的编辑委员会任职。
Root and Tuber Crops
Root and Tuber Crops John Bradshaw Editor A number of root and tuber crops were first domesticated several thousand years ago, but none became important on a global scale until after the end of the 16th century.
Today the potato is the world’s third most important food crop (314 million tonnes produced in 2008), after wheat and rice. Cassava (233) is the most important root and tuber crop in the tropics where it is a primary staple food in many of the poorest countries, and the sweet potato (110) is also a food staple in Asia, Africa and America. Sugar beet (228) provides about one quarter of the world’s sugar production from crops grown in temperate climates. Yams (52) are also important staple food crops in tropical and subtropical regions. Although Taro and Cocoyam are minor crops, they do provide a staple food for poor people in Africa, Asia and America. From the 1800s, fodder beet, swedes and turnips became important for feeding to livestock in temperate climates but they have now been replaced as major crops for animal feed by cereals and silage. The extent to which root and tuber crops are benefiting from modern breeding methods and new biotechnologies reflects both their own economic importance and that of their close relatives. All of this is covered together with past achievements, current breeding objectives and utilization of genetic resources. The book will be of value both to students of plant breeding and professional plant breeders, as well as to anyone interested in this fascinating group of root and tuber crops. The Handbook of Plant Breeding-Root and Tuber Crops is a volume devoted to 10 of the most important root and tuber crops and is divided into eight chapters: Potato (Solanum tuberosum), Cassava (Manihot esculenta), Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas), Yams (Dioscorea spp.), Taro (Colocasia esculenta) and Cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium), Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris), Fodder Beet (Beta vulgaris), and Swedes (Brassica napus) and Turnip (Brassica rapa). Chapters have been written by experts on the crops with wide knowledge of their breeding. In order to provide uniformity with the other volumes in the Handbook of Plant Breeding, each chapter is divided into the following sections: Introduction, Origins and Domestication, Varietal Groups (where appropriate), Genetic Resources, Major Breeding Achievements, Current Goals of Breeding, Breeding Methods and Techniques, Integration of New Biotechnologies in Breeding Programs and Seed (Tuber/Commercial) Production. About the Editor: John Bradshaw is a Honorary Fellow of the Scottish Crop Research Institute, having spent the whole of his 34 year career there as a plant breeder and geneticist. Throughout his career he has been a member of the European Association for Research on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA) and served as Chairperson of the Section Potatoes. He has travelled widely and written extensively on plant breeding, as well as serving on the editorial boards of a number of scientific journals.

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