on tree fruits; grapes (Vitis vinifera L.); various vegetables; fi ber crops, such as cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. and G. barbadense L.), kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.), and hemp; (Cannabis sativa L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), cereal crops, and forage crops. Later, separate research institutes were established to focus on individual crops and initiate specifi c breeding programs. TAES was the fi rst institute in Central Asia established for studies of genetics/breeding and the cultural management of fruits, grapes, and nuts. Schroeder developed improved cultivars of cotton, rice, corn (Zea mays L.), and other crops (Schroeder, 1956). In tree fruits, he focused on improving cold-hardiness, resistance to diseases and insects, and yield. In 1911, Schroeder participated in the 7th International Congress of Arid Lands in the United States for cotton and orchard crops. While in the United States, he collected seeds of legumes, sorghum, and cotton cultivars and evaluated them in Central Asia. Shortly thereafter, Schroeder published an agricultural monograph that was widely distributed throughout the Russian Empire and, later, the USSR (Schroeder, 1913). Following Richard Schroeder's death in 1944, his son, Alexander R. Schroeder, continued the apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) breeding program, developing and releasing cultivars that are still popular in Central Asia: '
