NSF Award
0305213
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. and Texas A&M University are hosting the<br/>International Symposium on Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf, May 18-22, 2003 in<br/>Dallas, Texas. This conference will focus exclusively on the theme of cultivar improvement for<br/>forage and turf through the application of conventional plant breeding and molecular methods.<br/><br/>Forages provide the basis for environmentally sustainable production of animal products<br/>throughout the world, and turf serves an important environmental and service role in society.<br/>The economic impact of forages and turfgrasses is substantial. Cultivar improvement using<br/>conventional selection techniques has barely kept pace with increased production requirements.<br/>Molecular technologies offer powerful tools to enhance the process of cultivar improvement,<br/>although the development of such technology for forage and turf breeding has been slow relative<br/>to other major crops. Reasons for this slower than desired progress include: the complicated<br/>nature of polyploid genetics; the perennial nature of forage and turf crops; and a lack of financial<br/>resources to support applied research.<br/><br/>This conference will facilitate the assembly of 250-400 participants from academia and industry,<br/>representing such diverse professional interests as plant breeding, agronomy, ruminant nutrition,<br/>plant genetic resources, intellectual property rights, genomics, transformation, and<br/>bioinformatics. The selected speakers are experts in their respective field, and each has<br/>committed to attend. Thus, this conference will provide an otherwise unavailable opportunity for<br/>plant breeders and molecular scientists in the field of forage and turf improvement to come<br/>together for the purpose of exchanging information and ideas, learning the latest developments,<br/>and forming multidisciplinary collaborations. It is anticipated that this conference will facilitate<br/>the advancement of current and future cultivar development in the United States and as well as<br/>developing and developed countries.<br/><br/>Efforts in conference recruitment will seek to draw critical new thoughts into this field through<br/>the solicitation of members of historically underrepresented groups, young scientists (including<br/>post-doctoral fellows), and graduate students. The introduction of new ideas to this discipline is<br/>beneficial and necessary, and the exposure of young scientists to this field will desirably<br/>contribute to cultivar improvement for forage and turf for decades to come.<br/><br/>A summary of the conference, including papers from invited speakers and selected oral<br/>presentations, will be compiled in a comprehensive printed proceeding, entitled inMolecular<br/>Breeding of Forage and Turf.ln This proceeding will be published by Kluwer Academic<br/>Publishers. This proceeding will be the principal means used to perpetuate the meeting and its<br/>discussions.
