Workshops on saving seeds, breeding plants planned

Jim Myers, a professor of vegetable breeding and genetics at the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University, will lead three workshops on saving seeds and breeding plants.

The workshops will be hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station’s Alaska Variety Trials Program.

The one-day workshops, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., will be held in Fairbanks, Palmer and Homer. They will include a morning session in the classroom and an outdoor session in the field using crop plants to demonstrate crossing, selection and seed saving. Participants will need to bring lunch. 

Topics include determining which seed crops are right for you, how to conduct a meaningful trial, reproductive biology and genetics basics, and managing and selecting self-pollinated or cross-pollinated crops. 

The Fairbanks workshop will be Aug. 26 at the UAF Arctic Health Research Building, 2141 N. Koyukuk Drive, and the variety trials research area at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm. 

The Palmer workshop will be Aug. 28 at the Matanuska Experiment Station and Extension Center, 1509 S. Georgeson Drive. 

The Homer workshop will be Aug. 30 at Kenai Peninsula College, 533 East Pioneer Ave. 

The cost for each workshop is $20; discounts are available. Seating is limited. Preregister at https://bit.ly/MyersWorkshops.

Contact Glenna Gannon, gmgannon@alaska.edu, 907-474-5945 for more information. 

Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five business days in advance to Gannon. Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to individuals with limited English proficiency upon request to Alda Norris, amnorris2@alaska.edu.

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