Crop wild relatives The Crop Wild Relatives Project The benefits of foods from the forests The value of wild relatives Managing Editor Contents Ruth D. Raymond An introduction to crop wild relatives 1 ssistant Managing Editor The Crop Wild Relatives Project 2 Cassandra Moore Use crop wild relatives or lose them! 3 Intern Kelly Wagner Wild foods are rich in micronutrients 4 Design & layout The benefits of foods from the forests 5 Patrizia Tazza Frances Ferraiuolo The value of wild relatives 6 Cover Photo Bringing crop relatives to the public 7 The wild relatives of banana could provide solutions for Spicy wild relatives get some respect 8 improving the crop, which is notoriously difficult to breed. The importance of wild bananas in Sri Lanka 9 Karen Robinson/Panos Wild relatives offer new lease on life to an ancient grain 10 Pictures Global conference maps out future for wild relatives 11 © Bioversity International 2006 Regional catalogue supports national strategies 12 Reprinted from Geneflow 2006. Putting diversity back into wheat 13 Protecting the wild relatives of walnut 14 Saving Central Asia's pistachio diversity 15 Ask the old women 16 Tapping the potential of medicinal and aromatic plants in northern Europe 17 Climate change threatens wild relatives with extinction 18 This publication was Wild potato relative may blunt late blight 19 supported by the UNEP/GEF On the rocks 20 project "In situ conservation of crop wild relatives through Spreading the word about wild relatives 21 enhanced information management and field Wild relatives could help boost berry market 22 application." Groundnut relatives hit the spot 23 Glossary 24 n introduction to crop wild relatives Crop wild relatives include value of some crops, crop ancestors as well as including protein content other species more or less in durum wheat, calcium closely related to crops. content in potatoes and They are a critical source provitamin A in tomato. of genes for resistance to diseases, pests and Protecting crop wild stresses such as drought relatives helps to ensure and extreme temperatures. that adequate genetic The use of wild relatives has diversity exists in a led to improved resistance particular crop’s gene pool. to wheat curl mite, to late The increasing genetic blight in potato and to uniformity of crop varieties, grassy stunt disease in combined with the effects rice. They have been used of climate change, makes to improve tolerance of crops more vulnerable to drought in wheat and acid stress. The devastating Crop wild sulphate soils in rice. Wild losses in the American relatives are relatives have also been maize crop caused by A. Lane/Bioversity International valuable tools used to raise the nutritional the Southern corn blight Passion fruit, Bolivia. Crop wild relatives are a valuable source outbreak in the USA in the of variation that can be used to help crops adapt to changing 1970s highlighted the real environmental conditions and human needs. risk of relying on a few high- yielding varieties. While involves partners from problems. One such the USA produces about five countries—Armenia, major threat is Ug99, a half of the world’s maize, Bolivia, Madagascar, Sri black-stem rust first found production is based on less Lanka and Uzbekistan—with in Ugandan wheat in than 5% of the diversity significant, important 1999. This pathogen has available worldwide. and threatened crop been appearing in fields wild relatives. For more throughout East Africa Crop wild relatives are information about the ever since, where it is valuable tools that we can project, see the story on p. 2. reducing grain yields by up use to adapt to changing to 71%. If not conquered environmental conditions This special section of soon, Ug99 could become and human needs, but Geneflow is sponsored by a global epidemic within natural populations of wild the Crop Wild Relatives the next 15 years. The relatives are increasingly at Project as part of its conservation and use of risk, due to over-exploitation awareness-raising activities. crop wild relatives could A. Lane/Bioversity International and the loss of habitat. A hold the key to meeting Walnuts are one of the target crops for the UNEP/GEF–Bioversity global project, launched As understanding and the challenge of Ug99 and International project on crop wild relatives. in 2004, addresses these knowledge of crop wild other threats to agriculture risks. The project, funded relatives increases, plant and food security. For further information, contact by the Global Environment breeders will increasingly Annie Lane, Bioversity Facility and implemented look to them for solutions By Annie Lane, International by the United Nations to many of the world’s Bioversity International [email protected] Environment Programme, unsolved plant disease The project outcomes will The Crop Wild Relatives Project provide the basis for strategies that could be applied in other Facility and implemented ecology, conservation countries by the United Nations status, distribution, Environment Programme, crop production little in common beyond the promotes effective in situ potential, uses, existing fact that they are located conservation of crop wild conservation actions in centres of crop diversity relatives to ensure their and existing information and possess important availability for improving sources. and endangered crop wild global food security. Each relatives in their mountain of the five project countries • To build the capacity systems, will collectively has a remarkably rich and of national partners to make a major contribution unique diversity of crop wild use this information to to the conservation of crop relatives, many of which develop and implement wild relatives globally. have contributed vital genes rational, cost-effective for crop improvement in approaches to Bioversity International is developed and developing conserving crop wild the executing agency for countries. relatives. the project and five other A. Lane/Bioversity International international organizations Vegetables on display at a Bringing together five Although most of the partner • To raise awareness of are partners in the initiative: bazaar in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is one of the five countries—Armenia, countries have identified the potential of crop wild the Food and Agriculture countries involved in the Crop Bolivia, Madagascar, Sri the conservation of crop relatives for improving Organization of the United Wild Relatives Project. Lanka and Uzbekistan—the wild relatives as a strategic agricultural production Nations, Botanic Gardens Crop Wild Relatives Project national priority, they have among policy-makers, Conservation International, aims to protect natural had limited resources to conservation managers, the United Nations populations of crop wild invest in conservation plant breeders, Environment Programme relatives while setting a programmes in the past. educators and local World Conservation precedent for conservation users. Monitoring Centre, the that the rest of the world The project has three World Conservation Union, can follow. These countries broad goals: The project outcomes and the Information and contain some of the world’s will provide the basis for Coordination Centre for biodiversity hotspots, areas • To develop national and strategies that could be Biological Diversity (IBV). that are also at greatest risk international information applied in other countries from the loss of diversity. systems on crop wild with significant populations By Annie Lane, relatives that include of crop wild relatives. In this Bioversity International Crop wild relatives are data on species biology, way, these five nations, with essential for adapting crops to changing environmental conditions and human Crops whose wild relatives have been given priority by needs. Nevertheless, many the countries participating in the project natural populations of Armenia Wheat, barley, rye, pulses, pear, beet these highly compatible Bolivia Potato, sweet potato, quinoa, cassava, bean, capsicum, pineapple, peanut, species are increasingly at cacao, cashew, sugar apple, papaya, palm heart, tree tomato, palmito, blackberry risk due to climate change, Madagascar Rice, banana, coffee, yam, vanilla For further information, contact over-exploitation and loss Annie Lane, Bioversity of habitat. The five-year Sri Lanka Rice, cowpea, black pepper, banana, cinnamon International project, which is funded Uzbekistan Onion, almond, pistachio, walnut, apple, barley [email protected] by the Global Environment Use crop wild relatives or lose them! Despite the immense Many wild relatives are Limited availability of the use of wild relatives diversity of wild relatives difficult to cross with the germplasm and lack of in breeding. Recent use and their potential to resist crop; even when they can knowledge and research of DNA markers and challenges ranging from be crossed the hybrid are often cited as other sequencing has helped to disease to drought, wild offspring may be sterile. reasons why wild species identify genes responsible relatives are little used in Fortunately, special tissue are not used more, but for desirable traits, crop improvement efforts. culture and hybridization none of these explanations dramatically increasing techniques can now be hold water. Since the the precision of selection Using crop relatives used to overcome these 1980s, the number of wild programmes. However, involves crossing the problems in order to nurse species accessions in public while techniques for crop