What does a plant breeder scientist do?
Plant breeder scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real plant breeder scientist resumes:
- Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
- Conduct technology comparison study to assess applicability of a wide range of chromatography products to support specific HTS assays.
- Analyze parallel synthesis libraries using high-throughput LC/MS methods with UV/ELS detection including mass determination, purity evaluation, and quantification.
Plant breeder scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 26% of Plant Breeder Scientists are proficient in Laboratory Procedures, USDA, and Disease Resistance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Communication skills, and Observation skills.
We break down the percentage of Plant Breeder Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Laboratory Procedures, 26%
Experienced in the synthesis, isolation, purification and characterization of small molecule compounds using laboratory procedures and techniques.
- USDA, 23%
Awarded Plant Variety Protection (PVP) of a unique Jalapeno breeding line from the USDA.
- Disease Resistance, 22%
Introgressed diverse germplasm sources into established inbreds for the incorporation of disease resistance and fruit quality traits.
- GC, 15%
Performed organic synthesis and instrumental analysis using GC
- PCR, 14%
Collaborated with Product Management, Quality and other R&D groups to develop new kits and reagents for PCR product.
Common skills that a plant breeder scientist uses to do their job include "laboratory procedures," "usda," and "disease resistance." You can find details on the most important plant breeder scientist responsibilities below.
Math skills. The most essential soft skill for a plant breeder scientist to carry out their responsibilities is math skills. This skill is important for the role because "agricultural and food scientists, like many other scientists, must have a sound grasp of mathematical concepts." Additionally, a plant breeder scientist resume shows how their duties depend on math skills: "performed qualitative and quantitative analysis using capillary electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling plant breeder scientist duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "communication skills are critical for agricultural and food scientists." According to a plant breeder scientist resume, here's how plant breeder scientists can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "coordinated and maintained communication between multiple cros for the production of monoclonal antibodies. "
Observation skills. This is an important skill for plant breeder scientists to perform their duties. For an example of how plant breeder scientist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "agricultural and food scientists conduct experiments that require precise observation of samples and other data." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a plant breeder scientist: "coordinated and performed commercial release testing of marketed product at manufacturing site in qc environment to address fda audit observations".
The three companies that hire the most plant breeder scientists are:
- Bayer1 plant breeder scientists jobs
- Driftwood
1 plant breeder scientists jobs
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Plant breeder scientist vs. Agronomist
Agronomists are professionals who are experts in finding ways to maximize crop production from a given acreage of soil. These agronomists must maintain a deep understanding of soil productivity principles by performing experiments to determine plant nutrients and soil health. They must collaborate with farmers and crop researchers to assess the crop production of the farm and conduct a detailed analysis of crop data. Agronomists must also develop methods to protect crops from diseases, weeds, pests, and harsh climate change.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, plant breeder scientist responsibilities require skills like "intellectual property," "laboratory procedures," "lc/ms," and "disease resistance." Meanwhile a typical agronomist has skills in areas such as "harvest," "field testing," "technical support," and "agronomy." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, agronomists reach similar levels of education than plant breeder scientists. Agronomists are 2.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 6.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Plant breeder scientist vs. Field agronomist
The primary role of a horticulturist is to care, maintain, and cultivate plant propagation. Horticulturists may work in various environments with plants such as garden centers or arboretum. These professionals use scientific knowledge about plant cultivation and propagation. They provide technical information to farmers and flower and vegetable growers. Part of their job is to perform disease and pest experiments and investigations with improved plant varieties with greater disease resistance. Also, they may assist in the regeneration of degraded land in the mining industry.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, plant breeder scientist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "intellectual property," "laboratory procedures," "usda," and "lc/ms." Meanwhile, a field agronomist has duties that require skills in areas such as "harvest," "cca," "plant tissue," and "chemistry." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Field agronomists earn lower levels of education than plant breeder scientists in general. They're 5.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 6.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Plant breeder scientist vs. Horticulturist
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a plant breeder scientist is likely to be skilled in "intellectual property," "laboratory procedures," "usda," and "lc/ms," while a typical horticulturist is skilled in "grass," "irrigation systems," "horticulture," and "grounds maintenance."
Most horticulturists achieve a lower degree level compared to plant breeder scientists. For example, they're 12.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 8.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Plant breeder scientist vs. Agriculturist
Types of plant breeder scientist
Updated January 8, 2025











