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Vegetable Breeding in Sri Lanka in Retrospect

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Agricultural Research for Sustainable Food Systems in Sri Lanka

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Abstract

Plant breeding started when hunter-gatherers changed their lifestyle to the producers of selected plants and animals. During this gradual process, independent primitive forms of plants were transformed into fully human-dependent domesticated varieties through plant breeding technique “selection”, which even today remains the primary strategy for crop improvement. Though it is difficult to establish as to when plant improvement started in Sri Lanka, it can be safely assumed that it is as old as civilization itself which is dating back to 29,000–30,000 years before present. The principles of genetics have become essential tools in plant breeding after the rediscovery of Mendel’s laws in 1900, and during this era, Ceylon (renamed as Sri Lanka during 1978) was under the British Empire. In the activities of tropical agriculture, Ceylon has played a pioneering role, and the scientific workers of the Botanical Department in Ceylon had equally been pioneers in their work affecting tropical vegetation. The first pre-independence work related to crop varieties appeared in Volume I (1) of the Magazine of the School of Agriculture, Colombo, published in July 1889. Since then up to date, this review compares the development of regional plant breeding activities with the development of plant breeding in the country from prehistoric time to present day with special reference to vegetable breeding. The objective is to help in the identification of constraints and prospects for vegetable breeding in Sri Lanka.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Onesh Agri Pvt Ltd, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    H. Hemal Fonseka

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  1. H. Hemal Fonseka
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

    Buddhi Marambe

  2. Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

    Jeevika Weerahewa

  3. Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

    Warshi S. Dandeniya

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Fonseka, H.H. (2020). Vegetable Breeding in Sri Lanka in Retrospect. In: Marambe, B., Weerahewa, J., Dandeniya, W. (eds) Agricultural Research for Sustainable Food Systems in Sri Lanka. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2152-2_6

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