The outcrossing rate is a key component of the breeding system. While estimates of outcrossing rate exist for some plants, less information is available on variation in outcrossing rate within species and on its causes. Since many features of flowers affect the level of outcrossing, plant breeding systems are often inferred 'from observations on floral morphology, physiology, and phenology. Typ...

Willet M. Hays was a great benefactor to plant breeding and the founder of the American Genetic Association (AGA). We commemorate the AGA's centennial. We mined university archives, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) yearbooks, plant breeding textbooks, scientific periodicals, and descendants for information. Willet Hays first recognized the individual plant as the unit of selection and star...