Friends of the Arboretum Lecture
December 10, 2001 (Monday)
7:30 PM
Room 159, Kilgore Hall
Robert J. Griesbach
"Creating Novel Petunias"
There has been an increase in the popularity of novelty petunias. The cultivated
petunia is a complex hybrid of unknown origin involving only two species. An
additional 16 species have been described which have not yet been used in breeding.
These species have genes for drought tolerance, winter hardiness, insect resistance,
disease resistance, unusual growth habits, etc. This talk will describe the
genetic diversity found within this genus and its use in plant improvement.
Dr. Griesbach conducts a broad based research program in the genetics of floral plants at the USDA's Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit. His research focuses on determining the inheritance of horticulturally valuable traits, such as flower color. He creates enhanced germplasm from wild species that is disease, insect, and stress tolerant and he uses new technologies (i.e., embryo rescue, genetic engineering, molecular markers, etc.) to aid in the creation of novel germplasm.
Friends of the Arboretum lectures are free to those with current membership. There is a $5.00 fee for non-members. Please bring your membership card. We will have a current membership list at the door. Memberships will be available for purchase at the door. Entrance is free to all NC State students with ID and Department of Horticultural Science faculty and staff.
This lecture will be held in room 159,
Kilgore
Hall on the NC State University campus. The lecture begins at 7:30 PM. There
is plenty of free parking at the intersection of Hillsborough Street and Brooks
Street. Please call (919) 515-3132 if you need directions or information about
this event.