Solanum Tuberosum Andigena
Breeders keep saying “we need crop wild relatives” to adapt to climate change, but from a genebank perspective, what does that actually mean? How should we prioritize collecting and using CWRs and landraces?
Oryza Sativa Indica
Recent reviews highlight that CWRs and traditional landraces are rich in alleles for tolerance to heat, drought, salinity and new pests. Pre -breeding programs are using them to broaden the genetic base of crops, especially for marginal environments that are expected to expand under climate change. ( MDPI)
Zea Mays Dentiformis
The Crop Trust’s CWR project developed “pre -bred lines” as a bridge between wild species and farmer -ready varieties. For genebanks, this means documenting trait data and making sure CWR accessions are well conserved (usually as seed, sometimes by c ryo or field genebanks) and safety -duplicated in Svalbard. ( cwr.croptrust.org )
Triticum Aestivum Spelta
We’ve started tagging CWR and landrace accessions with special descriptors and DOIs so that any derived pre -breeding lines and PVS trials can point back to the original material. That’s another cross -link to the DOI and participatory breeding threads. (FAOHome )
Manihot Esculenta Crantz
From a farmer’s view (semi -arid West Africa here), varieties with CWR genes matter when we see seasons shifting and soils degrading. Our local landraces are resilient but sometimes low -yielding; the best results come from crossing them with improve d lines and testing them in Farmer Field Schools. ( FAOHome )
Phaseolus Vulgaris Pinto
We should also remember that many CWRs themselves are threatened in situ. Collaborations between conservation agencies and genebanks are needed so that collecting doesn’t harm wild populations and benefits flow back to local communities, consistent with the Treaty and CBD rules. ( researchgate.net )
Cicer Arietinum Desi
And looping back to the cryopreservation thread —cryo can be a good backup for vegetatively propagated CWRs, but we still need studies on long -term genetic stability across diverse wild genotypes.