Contact:
Annie Heiliger, Program Assistant

Email:
annie.heiliger@colostate.edu

Fee
Registration
Non-student
$200
Student
$150

Click here for lodging options.

Registration is open until June 23

Historically, crop improvement has been in equal parts due to improved genetics and improved crop management. As world population continues to increase and incomes rise, the demand for agricultural products will increase. However, many of the great agricultural revolutions of crop management of the past are reaching maturity (e.g., irrigation, use of fertilizer, use of pesticides) and it is expected that little further gains can be achieved. Already, it is estimated that 80% of all fresh water consumption is used in irrigation and 50% of the world’s reactive nitrogen is used in agriculture, so it is doubtful that greater amounts can be applied. Hence, while in the past, crop productivity was due equally to improved genetics and improved crop management, future increases will be due more to improved genetics through plant breeding.

The purpose of the Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance Symposium is to provide a forum for exchange between plant physiologists, agronomists, and geneticists in order to continue the positive trend towards crop improvement through plant breeding and genetics. We hope also to build collaborations between the public and private sectors, as well as with graduate students in plant breeding, genetics, and physiology programs. The meeting will consist of stimulating presentations by invited speakers and will feature keynote speaker Richard Richards, plant physiologist, from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Canberra, Australia.

The specific goals of the Plant Breeding for Drought Adaptation Symposium are:
1)    To review and discuss recent and future advances in drought adaptation research
2)    To provide a forum for an international and cross-disciplinary exchange between expert plant physiologists, agronomists, and geneticists
3)    To increase knowledge of and excitement for current research in Plant Breeding for Drought Adaptation in US graduate students
4)    To build international collaborations between members of the public and private sectors as well as graduate students in Plant Breeding and Genetics programs 

Current list of speakers and topics

Topic

Presenter

Genetic and Physiological Basis of
Variation in Growth, Development and
Yield of Wheat

Richard Richards, CSIRO

Crop physiology and drought phenotyping: concepts and tools – case of rice at IRRI

Rachid Serraj, International Rice Research Institute

Whole plant responses, key processes and adaptation to drought stress

Renee Lafitte, Pioneer Hi-Bred International

Dissection of Drought Tolerance in Maize
and Durum Wheat via the QTL Approach

Roberto Tuberosa, University of Bologna

Maize Genes Involved in Ear and Kernel Set in Response to Water Deficit

Tim Setter, Cornell University

Combining Field, Lab and Population Genetic
Approaches to Understanding Drought Adaptation

Lisa Donovan, University of Georgia

Physiology and Genomics of
Drought Acclimation and Adaptation

John McKay, CSU

Combining Genetic and Physiological Models
to Predict Drought Adaptation

William Bauerle, CSU

Plant Breeding and Drought Physiology of Wheat

Marc Moragues, CSU