Wednesday 23 January 2013

Review of cereal landraces in gene banks (#journal)

Cereal landraces genetic resources in worldwide GeneBanks. A review

Miguel A. A. Pinheiro de Carvalho, Penelope J. Bebeli, Eliseu Bettencourt, Graça Costa and Sonia Dias, et al.
Modern cereal varieties have replaced landrace cereals, which formed the back-bone of agricultural production for four millennia. Many landraces now face extinction. However, they are vital for genetic diversity when developing cereals that counteract climate change effects. This article reviews landrace genebanks around the world. Close to a million landrace varieties are held, but information on them is not easily available. Moreover, landraces need to be cultivated on actual farms if they are to survive.

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