PERSPECTIVES IN PASTURE PLANT BREEDING IN NEW ZEALAND

After about a quarter of a century of pasture plant breeding in this country it is wise to attempt some evaluation of the plant improvement studies under way at present and projected for the future. Grasslands Division, largely through the efforts of Dr L. Corkill, has released, up to the present, eight improved varieties into the Government Certification scheme. These varieties have proved themselves in most parts of New Zealand to be superior to commercial varieties of New Zealand origin and to any introductions. The question is what further problems can we hope to solve by plant improvement methods. I propose to discuss briefly three main topics: Objectives of Selection, The Raw Material of Selection, and Methods of Breeding