Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Genetic Vulnerability and Crop Loss: The Case for Research on Underutilized and Alternative Crops

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Mathematical Sciences with Multidisciplinary Applications

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics ((PROMS,volume 157))

Abstract

The confluence of global climate change and population growth has brought to greater focus the question of how to satisfy future demand for food and fiber necessary to sustain current standards of living. Inevitably, agriculture will be called upon to do more at a time when established crops and cropping systems must confront new environmental and socio-economic challenges. Current efforts to preserve and characterize crop wild relatives and other genetic resources that could help crops meet future biotic and abiotic challenges are a direct response to the question. This chapter not only reiterates the importance of in situ and ex situ genetic conservation, it draws attention to the urgent need for investment in research on underutilized and alternative crops. The urgency relates directly to the fact that most of these crops are found in global biodiversity hotspots that are currently undergoing rapid environmental and socio-economic change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Khoury, C.K., Bjorkman, A.D., Dempewolf, H., et al.: Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 111(11), 4001–4006 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Esquinas-Alcázar, J.: Protecting crop genetic diversity for food security: political, ethical and technical challenges. Nat. Rev. Genet. 6, 946–953 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Tanksley, S.D., McCouch, R.S.: Seed banks and molecular maps: unlocking genetic potential from the wild. Science 277, 1063–1066 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Fu, Y.-B., Somers, D.J.: Genome-wide reduction of genetic diversity in wheat breeding. Crop. Sci. 49, 161–168 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Duvick, D.N.: Genetic diversity in major farm crops on the farm and reserve. Econ. Bot. 38(2), 161–178 (1984)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hyten, D.L., Song, Q., Zhu, Y., Choi, I.-Y., Nelson, R.L., Costa, J.M., Specht, J.E., Shoemaker, R.C., Cregan, P.B.: Impacts of genetic bottlenecks on soybean genome diversity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 103(45), 16666–16671 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Jordan, D.R., Tao, Y.Z., Godwin, I.D., Henzell, R.G., Cooper, M., McIntyre, C.L.: Loss of genetic diversity associated with selection for resistance to sorghum midge in Australian sorghum. Euphytica 102, 1–7 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hammons, R.O.: Peanuts: genetic vulnerability and breeding strategy. Crop. Sci. 16, 527–530 (1976)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Safeeulla, K.M.: Genetic vulnerability: the basis of recent epidemics in India. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 287, 72–85 (1977)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Jacques, P.J., Jacques, J.R.: Monocropping cultures into ruin: the loss of food varieties and cultural diversity. Sustainability 4, 2970–2997 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. National Research Council: Lost Crops of the Incas: Little Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  12. National Research Council: Lost Crops of Africa. Volume I: Grains. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  13. National Research Council: Lost Crops of Africa. Volume II: Vegetables. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  14. National Research Council: Lost Crops of Africa. Volume III: Fruits. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Cincotta, R.P., Wisnewski, J., Engelman, R.: Human population in the biodiversity hotspots. Nature 404, 990–992 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Maurer, B.A.: Relating human population growth to loss of biodiversity. Biodivers. Lett. 3(1), 1–5 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Midgley, G.F., Hannah, L., Millar, D., Rutherford, M.C., Powrie, L.W.: Assessing the vulnerability of species richness to anthropogenic climate change in a biodiversity hotspot. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 11, 445–451 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Vavilov, N.I.: The new systematic of cultivated plants. In: Huxley, J. (ed.) The New Systematics, pp. 549–566. Clareon Press, Oxford (1940)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Ullstrup, A.J.: Impacts of Southern corn leaf blight epidemics of 1970–1971. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 10(1), 37 (1972)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Johnson, R.C.: Gene banks pay big dividends to agriculture, the environment, and human welfare. PLoS Biol. 6(6), e148 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Hunter, D., Heywood, V. (eds.): Crop Wild Relatives: A Manual of In Situ Conservation, 1st edn. Bioversity International, New York, NY (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  22. FAO: Genebank Standards for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rev. Ed., Rome (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Hammer, K.: A paradigm shift in the discipline of plant genetic resources. Genet. Resour. Crop. Evol. 50, 3–10 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Wright, B.D.: Crop genetic resource policy: the role of ex situ genebanks. Aust. J. Agr. Resour. Econ. 41(1), 81–115 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Ledig, F.T.: Conservation strategies for forest gene resources. For. Ecol. Manage. 14, 77–90 (1986)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Zimmer, K.S.: The loss and maintenance of native crops in mountain agriculture. GeoJournal 27(1), 61–72 (1992)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  27. Padulosi, S., Eyzaquirre, P., Hodgkin, T.: Challenges and strategies in promoting conservation and use of neglected and underutilized crop species. In: Janick, J. (ed.) Perspectives on New Crops and Uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Brussaard, L., Caron, P., Campbell, B., Lipper, L., Mainka, S., Rabbinge, R., Babin, D., Pulleman, M.: Reconciling biodiversity conservation and food security: scientific challenges for a new agriculture. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 2, 34–42 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Sthapit, B., Padulosi, S., Mal, B.: Role of on-farm/in situ conservation on underutilized crops in the wake of climate change. Indian J. Plant Genet. Resour. 23(2), 145–156 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Padulosi, S., Heywood, V., Hunter, D., Jarvis, A.: Underutilized species and climate change: current status and outlook. In: Yadav, S.S., Redden, R.J., Hatfield, J.L., Lotze-Campen, H., Hall, A.E. (eds.) Crop Adaptation to Climate Change, pp. 507–521. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Mal, B., Padulosi, S., Ravi, S.B. (eds.): Minor Millets in South Asia: Learnings from IFAD-NUS Project in India and Nepal. Bioversity International, Maccarese, Rome, Italy and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, India (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Pearl, S.A., Burke, J.M.: Genetic diversity in Carthamus tinctorius (Asteraceae; Safflower), an underutilized oilseed crop. Am. J. Bot. 101(10), 1640–1650 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Ochatt, S., Jain, S.M. (eds.): Breeding of Neglected and Under-Utilized Crops, Spices and Herbs. Science Publishers, Enfield, NH (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Vuong, L.T.: Underutilized β-carotene-rich crops of Vietnam. Food Nutr. Bull. 21(2), 173–181 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Flyman, M.V., Afolayan, A.J.: The suitability of wild vegetables for alleviating human dietary deficiencies. S. Afr. J. Bot. 72, 492–497 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Pande, G., Akoh, C.C.: Organic acids, antioxidant capacity, phenolic content and lipid characterization of Georgia-grown underutilized fruit crops. Food Chem. 120, 1067–1075 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Schönfeldt, H.C., Pretorius, B.: The nutrient content of five traditional South African dark green leafy vegetables-a preliminary study. J. Food Compos. Anal. 24, 1141–1146 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Mwangi, S., Kimathi, M.: African leafy vegetables evolve from underutilized species to commercial cash crops. Research Workshop on Collective Action and Market Access for Smallholders. Cali, Colombia, October 2–5 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Gruère, G., Giuliani, A., Smale, M.: Marketing underutilized plant species for the benefit of the poor: a conceptual framework. EPT Discussion paper 154. IFPRI, Washington, DC (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Horna, D., Timpo, S., Gruère, G.: Marketing Underutilized Crops: The Case of the African Garden Egg (Solanum aethiopicum) in Ghana. Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU), Rome (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Gruère, G., Nagarajan, L., King, E.D.I.O.: The role of collective action in the marketing of underutilized plant species: lessons from a case study on minor millets in South India. Food Policy 34, 39–45 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Janick, J. (ed.): Perspectives on New Crops and Uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  43. IAEA: Genetic improvement of under-utilized and neglected crops in low income food deficit countries through irradiation and related techniques. In: Proceedings of a final Research Coordination Meeting organized by the joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Pretoria, South Africa, May 19–23, 2003 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Oh, D.-G., Kubota, C.: Proceedings of the International symposium on cultivation and utilization of Asian, sub-tropical, and underutilized horticultural crops. Acta Hortic. 770 (2008). 212 pp

    Google Scholar 

  45. Jaenicke, H., Ganry, J., Hoeschle-Zeledon, I., Kahane, R.: Proceedings of the International symposium on underutilized plants for food, nutrition, income and sustainable development. Acta Hortic. 806(1–2) (2008). 739 pp

    Google Scholar 

  46. Massawe, F., Mayes, S., Alderson, P.: Proceedings of the second international symposium on underutilized plant species: crops for the future - beyond food security. Acta Hortic. 979(1–2) (2011). 806 pp

    Google Scholar 

  47. Padulosi, S., Bergamini, N., Lawrence, T. (eds.): On-farm conservation of neglected and underutilized species: status, trends and novel approaches to cope with climate change. In: Proceedings of an International Conference, Frankfurt, 14–16 June, 2011. Bioversity International, Rome (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Williams, J.T., Haq, N.: Global Research on Underutilized Crops. An Assessment of Current Activities and Proposals for Enhanced Cooperation. ICUC, Southampton, UK (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Jaenicke, H., Höschle-Zeledon, I. (eds.): Strategic Framework for Underutilized Plant Species Research and Development, with Special Reference to Asia and the Pacific, and to Sub-Saharan Africa. International Centre for Underutilized Crops, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species, Rome, Italy (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Van Andel, T.: African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.): lost crop of the enslaved Africans discovered in Suriname. Econ. Bot. 64, 1–10 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  51. The Flora of Virginia Project. Digital atlas of the Virginia flora. http://www.vaplantatlas.org/. Accessed March 2014

  52. Stamp, P., Messmer, R., Walter, A.: Competitive underutilized crops will depend on state funding of breeding programmes: an opinion on the example of Europe. Plant Breed. 131, 461–464 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Rubenstein, K.D., Heisey, P., Shoemaker, R. Sullivan, J., Frisvold, G.: Crop Genetic Resources: An Economic Appraisal. EIB-2, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (2005)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Research Station, College of Agriculture, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, 23806-0001, USA

    Laban K. Rutto, Vitalis W. Temu & Myong-Sook Ansari

Authors
  1. Laban K. Rutto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vitalis W. Temu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Myong-Sook Ansari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laban K. Rutto .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Mathematics and Economics, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia, USA

    Bourama Toni

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this paper

Cite this paper

Rutto, L.K., Temu, V.W., Ansari, MS. (2016). Genetic Vulnerability and Crop Loss: The Case for Research on Underutilized and Alternative Crops. In: Toni, B. (eds) Mathematical Sciences with Multidisciplinary Applications. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, vol 157. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31323-8_20

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation