Grasslands are among the largest ecosystems in the world and consequently are of great importance to mankind. The genotypes of the species which are the main components of the grasslands have great influence on total outcome and successful utilization of grasslands. Therefore fodder crops and turf swards should be constantly improved to follow modern trends in agriculture production and landscape architecture. The wide range of breeding programs for forage and amenity species, as well as new breeding methods and techniques, is rapidly expanding the boundaries and is making it possible to achieve outstanding breeding results. This book includes papers presented at the 30th EUCARPIA Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses Section Meeting. The challenging title of the book focuses on breeding of quantitative traits, which directly impact the profitability and sustainability of grasslands and fodder crops production, as well as on multidisciplinary approach in grassland research and utilisation. Included papers offer a unique collection of ideas and breakthroughs in the fields of fodder crops and amenity grasses breeding and genetics, as well as in the creative and innovative application of new tools in practical breeding.

The basic concept of this book is to examine the use of innovative methods augmenting traditional plant breeding towards the development of new crop varieties under different environmental conditions to achieve sustainable food production. This book consists of two volumes: Volume 1 subtitled Breeding, Biotechnology and Molecular Tools and Volume 2 subtitled Agronomic, Abiotic and Biotic Stress Traits. This is volume 2 which contains 18 chapters highlighting breeding strategies for specific plant traits including improved nutritional and pharmaceutical properties as well as enhanced tolerance to insects, diseases, drought, salinity and temperature extremes expected under predicted global climate change.

This book includes papers presented at the 2015 meeting of the Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses Section of Eucarpia. The theme of the meeting “Breeding in a world of scarcity” was elaborated in four sessions: (1) scarcity of natural resources, (2) scarcity of breeders, (3) scarcity of land and (4) scarcity of focus. Parts I to IV of this book correspond to these four sessions. Session 1 refers to the consequences of climate change, reduced access to natural resources and declining freedom in using them. Plant breeding may help by developing varieties with a more efficient use of water and nutrients and a better tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Session 2 refers to the shrinking number of field breeders. There is a need for a mutual empathy between field- and lab-oriented breeding activities, integrating new methods of phenotyping and genotyping. Session 3 underscores the optimal use of agricultural land. Forage needs to be intensively produced in a sustainable way, meeting the energy, protein and health requirements of livestock. Well-adapted varieties, species and mixtures of grasses and legumes are needed. Session 4 refers to the fading of focus in primary production triggered by a range of societal demands. There are few farmers left and they are asked to meet many consumer demands. Both large-scale, multi-purpose species and varieties and specialized niche crops are required. Part V summarizes the conclusions of two open debates, two working group meetings and two workshops held during the conference. The debates were devoted to the future of grass and fodder crop breeding, and to feed quality breeding and testing. The conference hosted meetings of the working groups “Multisite rust evaluation” and “Festulolium”. Workshops focused on “genomic selection and association mapping” and on “phenotyping” with applications in practical breeding research. Part V contains also short sketches of breeding ideas presented as short communications.

Plant Breeding Reviews presents state-of-the-art reviews on plant genetics and the breeding of all types of crops by both traditional means and molecular methods. Many of the crops widely grown today stem from a very narrow genetic base; understanding and preserving crop genetic resources is vital to the security of food systems worldwide. The emphasis of the series is on methodology, a fundamental understanding of crop genetics, and applications to major crops.

This book includes papers presented at the 2017 Joint meeting of Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses Section and Protein Crops Working Group of EUCARPIA-Oil and Protein Crops Section. The theme of the meeting “Breeding Grasses and Protein Crops in the Era of Genomics” has been divided into six parts: (1) Utilisation of genetic resources and pre-breeding, (2) Genetic improvement of quality and agronomic traits, (3) Breeding for enhanced stress tolerance (4) Implementation of phenomics and biometrics, (5) Development of genomic tools and bioinformatics and (6) Reports of Parallel Sessions.

This proceeding covers all the collected research data and presentations from the 8th International Symposium on the Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf. The book explores themes in molecular breeding of forage and turf, including abiotic and biotic stresses, bioenergy and biorenewables, comparative genomics, emerging tools for forage and turf research, functional genetics and genomics and genetic mapping germplasm, diversity and its impact on breeding, herbage quality, plant-microbe interactions and transgenic and risk assessment. Written by renowned researchers in plant genomics, Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf: The Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on the Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf is a valuable resource for researchers and students in the field of plant genomics.

Forage and turf are the backbone of sustainable agriculture and contribute extensively to the world economy. The fast-paced advancement of cellular and molecular biology provides novel methods to accelerate or complement conventional breeding efforts. This book contains the most comprehensive reviews on the latest development in applications of molecular techniques for the improvement of forage grasses, forage legumes and turf grasses. Detailed accounts and future opportunities in molecular breeding of forage and turf, from gene discovery to development of improved cultivars, are described in the book. Almost all relevant areas are explored in detail, including tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses; flowering control; plant-symbiont relations; breeding for animal, human and environmental welfare; molecular markers; transgenics; bioinformatics; population genetics; genomics of the model legume M. truncatula; field testing and risk assessment as well as intellectual property rights. This book will be of interest to researchers in both academia and industry who are involved in forage and turf improvement. It will be especially important to breeders, molecular biologists, geneticists, physiologists and agronomists.