Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance: Improving Education to Address a Critical Global Need.

Colorado State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have jointly established a research and education project in plant breeding for drought tolerance. The project’s educational objectives are to (1) develop, offer, and evaluate a field-oriented short course and a distance education course on the genetics, breeding, and physiology of drought stress tolerance; (2) train a Ph.D. and an M.S. student for leadership roles in plant breeding for drought tolerance; and (3) expand research opportunities for undergraduate students. The first two-week short course on Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance was held in June 2010 at CSU in Fort Collins and was attended by 27 students from 12 countries. The course included a combination of hands-on activities, lectures, field and laboratory exercises, and a two-day symposium on plant breeding, physiology, and genomics of drought adaptation. For the participants, this was not only an educational experience, but a networking opportunity. Many international contacts were initiated and some of these will certainly be maintained in the future. A five-week, one-credit online course will be offered in September-October 2011, and the next field-oriented short course is planned for June 2012. More details about the project and courses are available at http://www.droughtadaptation.org.