Division of Plant Breeding Methodology

The Department (the Chair) of Plant Breeding Methodology is going through a phase of many changes, parallel to the groundbreaking new developments in genetics and breeding that we are experiencing and shaping.
Heiko Becker headed this group until 2018. Tim Beissinger then took over this position for five years, and Antje Schierholt headed the department from February 2023 to April 2024. We are now preparing to - hopefully soon - facilitate the entry of a new head of research and teaching in Plant Breeding Methodology, here in Göttingen.

Plant Breeding brings together Evolution, Agriculture, Genetics, Statistics, Computer Programming, Genomics, Data Science. A plant breeder's toolbox encompasses a wide spectrum of biological, statistical, and computational approaches, and our primary objective is thus to develop and improve Plant Breeding Methodology. We ask about the ‘how’ in pre-breeding, in recurrent selection, in cultivar development. To understand how breeders may best employ genetic resources, we develop and maintain specific panels of genotypes, conduct experiments that leverage field and greenhouse crossing, multi-environment and multi-continent field trials. We work with high-throughput phenotyping and genotyping data, with sequencing, experimental evolution; we apply and develop quantitative genetics, selection theory, simulation techniques and more. Our primary crops currently being studied include cereals such as maize and pulses such as faba bean. In our research projects we cooperate around the world with plant breeders, geneticists, and theoreticians representing universities, private industry, and non-profit organizations. Through teaching, our division provides a platform to students to explore the complexities and challenges of plant breeding and helps them to be educated and trained as the next generation of scientists in plant breeding in the public and private sectors.

The Division of Plant Breeding Methodology is currently headed by Wolfgang Link, serving Interims Administration for the Division of Plant Breeding Methodology. For matters of day-to-day business, contact the Division Assistant Sekretariat Zuchtmethodik.

Working groups in the Division