Technical Abstract: Pest management decision making in hops varies among cultivars. Historically, the primary objective of hop breeding programs has been to increase the yield or characteristics associated with either bittering (high alpha-acids) or aroma (unique volatile oil profiles) cultivars. Other factors considered during breeding are resistance to diseases and arthropod pests, cone structure and color, and a variety of agronomic characteristics. This chapter presents an overview of the history of hop cultivar development, modern approaches to hop breeding, and attributes of hop cultivars with special attention to reactions to some of the most important diseases of hop.