Jul 17, 2019

New video about critical aspects of vegetable production

The allied seed and variety improvement industries are critically important aspects of vegetable production systems in California. Most vegetables are annuals and have to be started every year from seeds, so seed production is critical for the vegetable industry.

Professors Kent Bradford and Diane Beckles, Research Scientist Roger Chetelat, and Ph.D. student Karin Albornoz, all in the Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, narrate this video about the complicated process of vegetable seed breeding, often done by hand.

Topics include breeding for disease and insect resistance, flavor and size, production traits, open-pollinated and hybrid seeds, gene editing tools, global seed production, quality control, and more.

Also featured in the video are Jerry Serimian (USDA ARS), Rick Falconer (Rijk Zwaan Seed Co.), and Tony Turkovich (Button and Turkovich).