Crop Diversity - Benefits To The Environment

Benefits To The Environment

The loss of biodiversity is considered one of today’s most serious environmental concerns by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. According to some estimates, if current trends persist, as many as half of all plant species could face extinction. Among the many threatened species are wild relatives of our crops – species that could contribute invaluable traits to future crop varieties. It has been estimated that 6% of wild relatives of cereal crops (wheat, maize, rice, sorghum etc.) are under threat as are 18% of legume species (the wild relatives of beans, peas and lentils) and 13% of species within the botanical family that includes potato, tomato, eggplant, and pepper. Some recent research, however, questions the crop diversity erosion thesis with data drawn from commercially available vegetable and apple varieties.

The wise use of crop genetic diversity in plant breeding can contribute significantly to protecting the environment. Crop varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases can reduce the need for application of harmful pesticides more vigorous varieties can better compete with weeds; reducing the need for applying herbicides as in the case study at Aarhus University in Denmark using more robust maize; drought resistant plants can help save water through reducing the need for irrigation; deeper rooting varieties can help stabilize soils; and varieties that are more efficient in their use of nutrients require less fertilizer. Most importantly, perhaps, productive agricultural systems reduce or eliminate the need to cut down forest or clear fragile lands to create more farmland for food production.