Vavilov center
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A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posited that the center of origin for a species or genus is the same as its center of diversity, the geographic area where it has the highest genetic diversity, but this equivalence has been disputed by later scholars.
Plants
Locating the origin of crop plants is basic to plant breeding. This allows one to locate wild relatives, related species, and new genes (especially dominant genes, which may provide resistance to diseases). Knowledge of the origins of crop plants is important in order to avoid genetic erosion, the loss of germplasm due to the loss of ecotypes and landraces, loss of habitat (such as rainforests), and increased urbanization. Germplasm preservation is accomplished through gene banks (largely seed collections but now frozen stem sections) and preservation of natural habitats (especially in centers of origin).
Vavilov centers
A Vavilov center (of diversity) is a region of the world first indicated by Nikolai Vavilov to be an original center for the domestication of plants. For crop plants, Vavilov identified differing numbers of centers: three in 1924, five in 1926, six in 1929, seven in 1931, eight in 1935 and reduced to seven again in 1940.
Vavilov argued that plants were not domesticated somewhere in the world at random, but that there were regions where domestication started. The center of origin is also considered the center of diversity.
Schery (1972) and Janick (2002)
Vavilov centers are regions where a high diversity of crop wild relatives can be found, representing the natural relatives of domesticated crop plants.
| Center | Subcenter | Plants |
|---|---|---|
| 1) South Mexican and Central American Center Includes southern sections of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. | Grains and Legumes: maize, common bean, lima bean, tepary bean, jack bean, grain amaranth Melon Plants: Malabar gourd, winter pumpkin, chayote Fiber Plants: upland cotton, bourbon cotton, henequen (sisal) Miscellaneous: sweet potato, arrowroot, pepper, papaya, guava, cashew, wild black cherry, cochineal cactus, cherry tomato, cacao | |
| 2) South American Center 62 plants listed; three subcenters | 2) Peruvian, Ecuadorean, Bolivian Subcenter | Root Tubers: Andean potato, other endemic cultivated potato species. Fourteen or more species with chromosome numbers varying from 24 to 60, edible nasturtium Grains and Legumes: starchy maize, lima bean, common bean Root Tubers: edible canna, potato Vegetable Crops: pepino, tomato, ground cherry, pumpkin, pepper Fibre Plants: Egyptian cotton Fruit and Miscellaneous: cocoa, passion flower, guava, heilborn, quinine tree, tobacco, cherimoya, coca |
| 2A) Chiloé Subcenter | Common potato (48 chromosomes), Chilean strawberry | |
| 2B) Brazilian-Paraguayan Subcenter | manioc, peanut, rubber tree, pineapple, Brazil nut, cashew, Erva-mate, purple granadilla. | |
| 3) Mediterranean Center Includes all of Southern Europe and Northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea. 84 listed plants | Grains and Legumes: durum wheat, emmer, Polish wheat, spelt, Mediterranean oats, sand oats, canarygrass, grass pea, pea, lupine Forage Plants: Egyptian clover, white clover, crimson clover, serradella Oil and Fibre Plants: flax, rape, black mustard, olive Vegetables: garden beet, cabbage, turnip, lettuce, asparagus, celery, chicory, parsnip, rhubarb Ethereal Oil and Spice Plants: caraway, anise, thyme, peppermint, sage, hop | |
| 4) Middle East Includes interior of Asia Minor, all of Transcaucasia, Iran, and the highlands of Turkmenistan. 83 species | Grains and Legumes: einkorn wheat, durum wheat, poulard wheat, common wheat, oriental wheat, Persian wheat, two-row barley, rye, Mediterranean oats, common oats, lentil, lupine Forage Plants: alfalfa, Persian clover, fenugreek, vetch, hairy vetch Fruits: fig, pomegranate, apple, pear, quince, cherry, hawthorn | |
| 5) Abyssinian Center Includes Ethiopia, Eritrea, and part of Somalia. 38 species listed; rich in wheat and barley. | Grains and Legumes: Abyssinian hard wheat, poulard wheat, emmer, Polish wheat, barley, grain sorghum, pearl millet, African millet, cowpea, flax, teff Miscellaneous: sesame, castor bean, garden cress, coffee, okra, myrrh, indigo, enset | |
| 6) Central Asiatic Center Includes Northwest India (Punjab, Northwest Frontier Provinces and Kashmir), Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and western Tian-Shan. 43 plants | Grains and Legumes: common wheat, club wheat, shot wheat, peas, lentil, horse bean, chickpea, mung bean, mustard, flax, sesame Fiber Plants: hemp, cotton Vegetables: onion, garlic, spinach, carrot Fruits: pistachio, pear, almond, grape, apple | |
| 7) Indian Center Two subcenters | 7) Indo-Burma Subcenter Main Center (India): Includes Assam, Bangladesh and Burma, but not Northwest India, Punjab, nor Northwest Frontier Provinces, 117 plants | Grains and Legumes: chickpea, pigeon pea, urd bean, mung bean, rice bean, cowpea Vegetables and Tubers: eggplant, cucumber, radish, taro, yam Fruits: mango, tangerine, citron, tamarind Sugar, Oil, and Fibre Plants: sugar cane, coconut palm, sesame, safflower, tree cotton, oriental cotton, jute, crotalaria, kenaf Spices, Stimulants, Dyes, and Miscellaneous: hemp, black pepper, gum arabic, sandalwood, indigo, cinnamon tree, croton, bamboo, turmeric |
| 7A) Siam-Malaya-Java Subcenter statt Indo-Malayan Center Includes Indo-China and the Malay Archipelago, 55 plants | Grains and Legumes: Job's tears, velvet bean Fruits: pomelo, banana, breadfruit, mangosteen Oil, Sugar, Spice, and Fibre Plants: candlenut, coconut palm, sugarcane, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, Manila hemp | |
| 8) Chinese Center A total of 136 endemic plants in the largest independent center | Grains and Legumes: rice, broomcorn millet, Italian millet, Japanese barnyard millet, sorghum, buckwheat, hull-less barley, soybean, adzuki bean, velvet bean Roots, Tubers, and Vegetables: Chinese yam, radish, Chinese cabbage, onion, cucumber Fruits and Nuts: pear, Chinese apple, peach, apricot, cherry, walnut, litchi, orange Sugar, Drug, and Fibre Plants: sugar cane, opium poppy, ginseng camphor, hemp |