Landrace - Plants

Plants

An extended explanation of the term landrace as used in botany (and by extension in agriculture, horticulture, anthropology, etc.) was provided in 1975 by J. R. Harlan:

"Landrace populations are often highly variable in appearance, but they are each identifiable morphologically and have a certain genetic integrity. Farmers usually give them local names. A landrace has particular properties or characteristics. Some are considered early maturing and some late. Each has a reputation for adaptation to particular soil types according to the traditional peasant soil classifications, e.g. heavy or light, warm or cold, dry or wet, strong or weak. They also may be classified according to expected usage; among cereals, different landraces are used for flour, for porridge, for 'bulgur', and for malt to make beer, etc. All components of the population are adapted to local climatic conditions, cultural practices, and disease and pests."

"But most important, they are genetically diverse. They are balanced populations – variable, in equilibrium with both environment and pathogens and genetically dynamic".

The term has been more recently and succinctly characterized by A. C. Zeven in 1998:

"An autochthonous landrace is a variety with a high capacity to tolerate biotic and abiotic stress, resulting in a high yield stability and an intermediate yield level under a low input agricultural system."

The terms "landrace" and "traditional variety" are sometimes used interchangeably. Botanical landraces should not be confused with heirloom plants, which are selectively-bred cultivars that simply predate industrial agriculture, and continue to be selectively bred to retain their pre-industrial, non-hybridized traits, though many of course derive from landraces.