Genetics and Breeding Cooperatives for Horticultural Crops

Abstract

Abstract Attention here will be confined to those non-profit groups that serve to exchange information and materials related to genetics and breeding of specific horticultural crops. Being independent of the formal scientific societies and having arisen electively according to demand, they are highly heterogeneous in regard to functions, organization, support, and even titles. In most respects this heterogeneity is commendable since the needs of the various groups differ, and each group develops a distinctive character. It is beyond the scope of this article to present all the details of each cooperative, but they will be compared in respect to the most important aspects of their structure and functions. I hope to avoid an excessive slant toward the Tomato Genetics Cooperative, with which I have been associated since its inception. Excluded from major consideration in this article are groups devoted exclusively to line testing (ex. Southern Tomato Exchange Program, STEP), those covering an entire crop group (e.g. Vegetable Improvement Newsletter, VIN; Small Fruit Workers, SFW), or those which are restricted regionally.