Table Of ContentAdvance praise for Crop Genetic Diversity in the Field and on the Farm:
“ The definitive text that puts crop genetic diversity and agrobiodiversity in
the context of evolutionary biology and adaptation to rapid changes in the
Anthropocene . . . an essential tool in training young scientists to produce
the information and solutions that will contribute to healthy and resilient
ecosystems for future generations.”—From the Foreword by Cristián
Samper
“ The wisdom and hard work of millions of farmers since the advent of
agriculture are finally acknowledged and explained in this landmark book,
which is a must-read for every student or practicing agronomist, ecologist,
environmentalist, and conservationist. The authors need to be congratulated
for a detailed account of the value of and the need for conserving traditional
varieties, which is the key element for transforming the present dead-end
agriculture into a sustainable model based on diverse genetic crop makeup,
complemented by diverse cropping systems.”—Hans R. Herren, Co-Chair
IAASTD
“ A comprehensive, wide-ranging, and authoritative text by a virtual ‘dream
team’ of scholars on the subject of on-farm crop genetic diversity. A great re-
source for students and researchers around the globe who are concerned with
the future of agriculture and food security.”—Christine Padoch, Center for
International Forestry Research
“ Sound and original scholarship. Retaining crop genetic diversity is important
to the future of human civilization, and this book provides a good, modern
general reference to the science of crop genetic diversity.”—Tim Murray,
Washington State University
This page intentionally left blank
Yale Agrarian Studies Series
James C. Scott, series editor
The Agrarian Studies Series at Yale University Press seeks to publish outstanding and
original interdisciplinary work on agriculture and rural society—for any period, in any
location. Works of daring that question existing paradigms and fill abstract categories
with the lived experience of rural people are especially encouraged.
—James C. Scott, Series Editor
James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Con-
dition Have Failed
Steve Striffler, Chicken: The Dangerous Transformation of America’s Favorite Food
Alissa Hamilton, Squeezed: What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice
James C. Scott, The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland South-
east Asia
Sara M. Gregg, Managing the Mountains: Land Use Planning, the New Deal, and the
Creation of a Federal Landscape in Appalachia
Michael R. Dove, The Banana Tree at the Gate: A History of Marginal Peoples and
Global Markets in Borneo
Edwin C. Hagenstein, Sara M. Gregg, and Brian Donahue, eds., American Georgics:
Writings on Farming, Culture, and the Land
Timothy Pachirat, Every Twelve Seconds: Industrialized Slaughter and the Politics of
Sight
Andrew Sluyter, Black Ranching Frontiers: African Cattle Herders of the Atlantic World,
1500–1900
Brian Gareau, From Precaution to Profit: Contemporary Challenges to Environmental Pro-
tection in the Montreal Protocol
Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and Gopa Samanta, Dancing with the River: People and Life on the
Chars of South Asia
Alon Tal, All the Trees of the Forest: Israel’s Woodlands from the Bible to the Present
Felix Wemheuer, Famine Politics in Maoist China and the Soviet Union
Jenny Leigh Smith, Works in Progress: Plans and Realities on Soviet Farms, 1930–1963
Graeme Auld, Constructing Private Governance: The Rise and Evolution of Forest, Coffee,
and Fisheries Certification
Jess Gilbert, Planning Democracy: Agrarian Intellectuals and the Intended New Deal
Jessica Barnes and Michael R. Dove, eds., Climate Cultures: Anthropological Perspectives
on Climate Change
Shafqat Hussain, Remoteness and Modernity: Transformation and Continuity in Northern
Pakistan
Edward Dallam Melillo, Strangers on Familiar Soil: Rediscovering the Chile-California
Connection, 1786–2008
Devra I. Jarvis, Toby Hodgkin, Anthony H. D. Brown, John Tuxill, Isabel López Nor-
iega, Melinda Smale, and Bhuwon Sthapit, Crop Genetic Diversity in the Field and
on the Farm: Principles and Applications in Research Practices
For a complete list of titles in the Yale Agrarian Studies Series, visit yalebooks.com/
agrarian.
Crop
Genetic Diversity
in the Field
and
on the Farm
Principles and Applications in
Research Practices
Devra I. Jarvis, Toby Hodgkin,
Anthony H. D. Brown, John Tuxill,
Isabel López Noriega, Melinda Smale, and
Bhuwon Sthapit
Foreword by Cristián Samper
New Haven & London
Published with assistance from the Mary Cady Tew Memorial Fund.
As of December 1, 2006, the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and the Inter-
national Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) operate under the name
“Bioversity International.”
The designations employed and the presentations of material in this publication do not imply
the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Plant Genetic Resources
Institute, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, concerning the legal status of any
country, territory, city, or area or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or
boundaries.
The designations “developed” and “developing” economies are intended for statistical con-
venience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country,
territory, or area in the development process.
The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of
Bioversity International and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Copyright © 2016 by Bioversity International.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond
that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers
for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business, or promotional
use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] (U.S. office) or [email protected] (U.K.
office).
Set in Ehrhardt type by Integrated Publishing Solutions, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015943897
ISBN 978-0-300-16112-0 (cloth: alk. paper)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the many participants whose names and affiliations may
not appear in this volume; numerous farmers, communities,
development workers, educators, researchers, and government
officials collaborated in the work presented in this work, and it is
only through their efforts that this book is possible.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Foreword by Cristián Samper ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
chapter 1. Introduction and Overview 1
chapter 2. The Origins of Agriculture, Crop Domestication, and
Centers of Diversity 13
chapter 3. Plant Genetic Resources, Conservation, and Politics: A
History of International and National Developments Supporting the
Conservation and Use of Crop Diversity 35
chapter 4. Diversity and Its Evolution in Crop Populations 64
chapter 5. Measuring Diversity in Crops 91
chapter 6. Abiotic and Biotic Components of Agricultural Ecosys-
tems 126
