Production of food to meet the demands of an ever-increasing human population in the world is the major task and challenge to agriculture today. The conventional methods of plant breeding alone can no longer cope with the situation. The success of any crop improvement program depends on the extent of genetic variability in the base population, but due to denuding of forests and agricultural land, the naturally occurring pool of germplasm is being depleted. An urgent need is therefore ap­ parent to create new variability and increase the genetic base of agricul­ tural crops. Agricultural biotechnology has progressed to a stage in the produc­ tion of plants where specific characteristics to improve their yield, ap­ pearance, disease-resistance, nutritional quality and adaptation to ad­ verse soil conditions can be built into the seed. This concept of built-in quality implies a continuous scientific endeavour to improve plant char­ acters using a wide range of possibilities, and it also implies a scrutiny of the materials and methods available in the world today.

Table of Contents:
Section I Cereals.- I.1 Biotechnology of Wheat Improvement (With 7 Figures).- I.2 Wheat: Genetic Variability Through Anther Culture (With 2 Figures).- I.3 Wheat: Improvement Through Anther Culture (With 4 Figures).- I.4 Wheat: Production of Haploids, Performance of Doubled Haploids, and Yield Trials (With 3 Figures).- I.5 Durum Wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) (With 3 Figures).- I.6 Rice: Regeneration of Plants from Callus Cultures (With 14 Figures).- I.7 Rice (Oryza sativa L.): Factors Affecting Androgenesis (With 3 Figures).- I.8 Rice: Anther Culture for Rice Improvement in China (With 1 Figure).- I.9 Rice (Oryza sativa L.): Cryopreservation of Cell Cultures (With 14 Figures).- I.10 Corn (Zea mays L.): Production of Pure Lines Through Anther Culture (With 4 Figures).- I.11 Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.): Establishment of Cultures and the Regeneration of Plants (With 3 Figures).- I.12 Barley: Induction of Genetic Variability Through Callus Cultures (With 4 Figures).- I.13 Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] (With 2 Figures).- I.14 Pearl Millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) (With 3 Figures).- Section II Vegetables, Legumes and Tubers.- II.1 Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (With 1 Figure).- II.2 Phaseolus: Wide Hybridization Through Embryo Culture (With 2 Figures).- II.3 Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) (With 1 Figure).- II.4 Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) (With 3 Figures).- II.5 Egg Plant (Solanum melongena L.) (With 1 Figure).- II.6 Cucurbits (With 5 Figures).- II.7 Onion, Garlic and Leek (Allium Species) (With 10 Figures).- II.8 Celery (Apium graveolens L.) (With 2 Figures).- II.9 Butter-Bur (Petasites japonicus Miq.) (With 5 Figures).- II.10 Biotechnology of Potato Improvement (With 4 Figures).- II.11 Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas Poir.) (With 8 Figures).- II.12 Sugar Beet(Beta vulgaris L.) (With 2 Figures).- II.13 Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) (With 2 Figures).- Section III Future Agricultural Crops.- III.1 Triticale (Triticosecale): Production Through Embryo Culture (With 2 Figures).- III.2 Triticale: Production of Haploid and Homozygous Plants (With 5 Figures).- III.3 Hordecale (Hordeum vulgare L. × Secale cereale L.) (With 2 Figures).- III.4 Winged Bean [Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.] (With 5 Figures).- III.5 Amaranths (Amaranthus spp.): Potential Grain and Vegetable Crops (With 3 Figures).- III.6 Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) (With 14 Figures).