WorldVeg South Asia organized a two-day training program on “Maintenance breeding and inbred line development” for the seed industry at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Bangladesh on 18 – 19 December 2016.  Twenty-nine scientific staff attended the course led by Tomato Breeder Peter Hanson and Cucurbit Breeder Narinder Dhillon. South Asia staff Bharathi, Razu Ahmed, Shahabuddin Ahmed and Fajal Mukul coordinated the course in conjunction with BARI staff.

The course included theoretical and practical components emphasizing inbred line development. Peter and Dhillon discussed self-pollinated and cross-pollinated vegetable species using tomato and bitter gourd as examples. F₁ hybrids, genetic variability, segregating populations, nomenclature for pedigree selection, pedigree recordkeeping and several other topics were discussed.  Success stories of unique line development programs at WorldVeg created enthusiasm among participants, while field trials at Lal Teer Seeds and BARI gave participants a closer look at plant breeding in action.

Feedback from the trainees indicated a need for intensive training on each crop, particularly for stress and resistance breeding.

Story and photos: Bharathi Lakshmi