The journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development has just published a paper by our scientists from the Department of Conservation Botany titled: "The Original Garden: Tajikistan as a biodiversity hotspot of wild relatives of cultivated food crops." The publication is the first list of wild ancestors and relatives of cultivated food plants (CWR) native to Tajikistan.

CWR species are now recognized as key to improving agricultural production and maintaining sustainable agroecosystems. Their natural selection in the environment allows for the accumulation of a rich set of useful traits that can be introduced into the world's crops through cross-breeding with currently accepted species. With the advent of anthropogenic climate change and greater ecosystem instability, CWRs are likely to prove to be a critical resource in ensuring food security in the new millennium.

The Pamir Mountains, the Panj River valley and the lands east of Bukhara and Samarkand were once the central crossroads of the Silk Road thread running between Europe and East Asia. This allowed for the free flow of their local products to all parts of the Old World. The effects of this can now be seen in our diets. It is from the region inhabited by modern Tajiks, among others, that the wild ancestors of such plants as apple, garlic, leek, celery, caper, walnut, pistachio, almond, lentil, grape originated.

This publication has confirmed the unprecedented diversity of wild relatives of useful plants in such a small area at 549 species. At the same time, the work draws attention to the still-present gaps in research on the degree of relatedness of wild relatives of cultivated plants to current commercial varieties of vegetables and fruits, as well as the dangers of their inadequate protection.

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2022-11-30 12:06:03