Maize improvement: a multi-disciplinary approach

Abstract

In thinking about integrated agricultural research and production, our thoughts should span the complete process -- the activities and functions involved from first crossings in the breeding nursery through harvest at the farm level. When we think in these terms, we quickly see that many disciplines must be counted upon. The term "team approach" has been used to describe this process: but like most such terms, it is used in such a general and excessive way that its precise meaning is lost. Thus. "team work" or "team efforts" and similar expressions, become a kind of jargon for agricultural research and production workers. All research groups, -- universities, institutes or Departments of Agriculture -- say that they work as a team: "they cooperate". Such comments are made continually without any real thought as to their operational meaning. The actual situation, as I have seen it in research organization world-wide, is that cooperation or the "team approach" ranges from absolutely no cooperation -- or perhaps antagonism -- among the different disciplines, to truly integrated efforts. This situation is not unique to agriculture, nor is it correlated with levels of development of nations. Thus, since the meaning or impact of the concept "team approach" seems lost in current jargon, I shall discuss the subject under the term "integrated research and production".