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genetic diver ity. usually located in
Third World nat ions. to collect
germplasm for further brecding pro–
grams. Sudden ly in the 1970s we are
d iscovcri ng Mexican farmers are
planting hyb rid corn seed corn from
a Midwestern seed fi rm. that Tibet–
an farmcrs are planting bar ley
from a Scandinavian plant brecd ing
s ta tio n. a nd tha t Turkish farmers
are planting wheat from the Mexi–
can Wheat Program. Each of these
class ic a rcas of gene tic divcrsity is
rapidly becoming an arca o f seed
uniformi ty:·
Con tinues Wilkes. ' 'The reason
for alarm and concern a bout the
loss of native strai ns is th e irreplace–
able nature of th e genetic weal!h.
The only pl ace genes can be stored
is in living systems. e ither livi ng
b ra nches. such as the bud wood of
apple t rees. or in the living embryo
in a kernel of corn or wheat. T he
na tive va rieti es ca n become exti nct
once they a re dropped in favor o f
introduced seed. The ex tinc ti on can
take place in a si ng le year if the
seeds are cooked and caten instead
of saved as seed stock. Quite liter–
ally. th e genetic hcritage of a mi l–
lennium in a parti cular va ll ey can
d isappear in a sing le bowl of por–
ridge."
The Shrinking Gene Pool
A specia l U.N. report on the prob–
lcm of p lant genetic reso urces. pre–
pa red by the Food a nd Agricu ltu ra !
Organiza tion. was re leased some
four yea rs ago. Dr. Erna Be nne tt. a
U.N. biologist. conduc ted much of
the resea rch for the report. Bennett
ma ima ins tha t genetic erosion has
con t inued to occur. a lmos t un–
checked , and tha t "con tinent-wide
famines" may be the rcsu lt in the
nex t few yea rs.
According to the U.N. rcport :
·'Modern agricu lture wi th inte nsive
cul!i vat ion an d weed cont ro l and
the widespread use of improved
highly uniform crop varieti e is wip–
ing the primit ive va rie ties out of
exis tence: they a re disappcaring by
the thousand every year."
Concludes the U.N. report: " l f
the primitive crops are no t rescued.
the science of plant breeding which
has done so much to feed swell ing
populations over the pas t cent ury
will virt ua lly cometo a stop."
The
PLAIN TRUTH June 1976
''The genetic heritage of a
millennium can disappear in a
single bowl of porridge.
' '
- Wilkes
uwe need a sense of urgency
on erosion of plant resources.
'1'1
- Hyland
"Will people listen only alter
it is too late?
'1'1
- Harlan
Too Little Too Late?
' 'The world is ripe for disastrous
miscalculations." warns Ha rl a n. " In
view o f the obvious limitations of
our co llections and in face of the
curren t genet ic 'wipe out' of centers
o f d ivers ity. it may be too li tt lc and
too late. We conti nue to act as
though we could always replcnish
our supplics of genetic diversity.
Such is not the case. The time is
approaching. and may not be far
ofr. when essentially all the genctic
resources o f our majar crop will be
found ei ther in the c rops being
grown in the field o r in our gene
banks. This will be a risky state of
affa irs and will demand a g reat deal
more time a nd effort on genetic re–
source management than we have
ever devoted to it in the past.' '
' 'We need a sense of urgency in
collecting a nd preserving ou r rap–
idly disappearing plant genetic re–
so urces." maintains Howard L.
Hy land. principal p lant introduction
officer in the Germ Resources Labo–
ratory of the USDA. "This must be
a matter of g reat public concern if
we a re to insure the success of our
future ag ricul tura [ p rogram."
How real a re the dangers? What
is the potential magnitude of the
disaster that could result from fail–
ure o f a major crop? "On e might as
well ask how serious is atomic war–
fare?" asserts Harlan. 'The con–
seq uences o f fa ilure of one of our
major food p la n ts are beyond imag–
inat ion. "
WiU crop fai lures and famine
strike in the near fu ture? God
prophesied th at ancien t Israel - a
nation which failed to heed him -
would eventually s uffe r g reat ca tas–
trophi es . "Thou sha lt carry much
seed out into the field. an d sha lt
gather but little in." says God in
Deut. 28:38. For a ncient Israel. that
prophecy carne to pass. In modern
times, our nation. like anc ien t Israel.
may be heading for calamit ies we
now only dimly perceive.
"The line between abuntlance
and disaster is becoming thinner
nnd thinne r. and the public is una–
ware and unconcerned." concludcs
Hartan . "M ust we wa it for di aster
to be rea l before we are heard? Will
people listen only after it is too
late?"
o
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