During the 1970s and 1980s, mutation breeding made a tremendous contribution to crop improvement. Now, as the techniques of molecular biology become more widely adopted by plant breeders, this comprehensive summary sets mutation breeding in a contemporary context and relates it to other breeding techniques, including the most recently developed. The book opens with a general introduction to plant breeding and a review of the development of mutation breeding, including consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of the technique. Chapters covering the underlying theory are followed by sections that consider more practical aspects such as in vitro techniques, techniques used for seed propagated crops and techniques used for vegetatively propagated crops. Case studies and examples are included throughout and a list of over 1200 references provides a valuable resource for those new to the field.