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Crops and man

01 Jan 1975-
About: The article was published on 1975-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 1120 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Domestication & Germplasm.
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Journal ArticleDOI
22 Aug 1997-Science
TL;DR: The tools of genome research may finally unleash the genetic potential of the authors' wild and cultivated germplasm resources for the benefit of society.
Abstract: Nearly a century has been spent collecting and preserving genetic diversity in plants. Germplasm banks-living seed collections that serve as repositories of genetic variation-have been established as a source of genes for improving agricultural crops. Genetic linkage maps have made it possible to study the chromosomal locations of genes for improving yield and other complex traits important to agriculture. The tools of genome research may finally unleash the genetic potential of our wild and cultivated germplasm resources for the benefit of society.

2,214 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found no evidence that tropics, germs, and crops affect country incomes directly other than through institutions, nor do they find any effect of policies on development once they control for institutions.

1,439 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
03 Apr 1997-Nature
TL;DR: The cloned teosinte branched1 (tb1) gene encodes a protein with homology to the cycloidea gene of snapdragon and suggests that tb1 acts both to repress the growth of axillary organs and to enable the formation of female inflorescences.
Abstract: The domestication of crop plants has often involved an increase in apical dominance (the concentration of resources in the main stem of the plant and a corresponding suppression of axillary branches). A striking example of this phenomenon is seen in maize (Zea mays spp. mays), which exhibits a profound increase in apical dominance compared with its probable wild ancestor, teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis). Previous research has identified the teosinte branched1 (tb1) gene as a major contributor to this evolutionary change in maize. We have cloned tb1 by transposon tagging and show here that it encodes a protein with homology to the cycloidea gene of snapdragon. The pattern of tb1 expression and the morphology of tb1 mutant plants suggest that tb1 acts both to repress the growth of axillary organs and to enable the formation of female inflorescences. The maize allele of tb1 is expressed at twice the level of the teosinte allele, suggesting that gene regulatory changes underlie the evolutionary divergence of maize from teosinte.

1,316 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on lessons learned from long-term continuous cropping experiments, focusing on the importance of maintaining and improving soil quality in a continuous crop system, which is critical to sustaining agricultural productivity and environmental quality for future generations.
Abstract: Maintenance and improvement of soil quality in continuous cropping systems is critical to sustaining agricultural productivity and environmental quality for future generations. This review focuses on lessons learned from long-term continuous cropping experiments. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the most often reported attribute from long-term studies and is chosen as the most important indicator of soil quality and agronomic sustainability because of its impact on other physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil quality. Long-term studies have consistently shown the benefit of manures, adequate fertilization, and crop rotation on maintaining agronomic productivity by increasing C inputs into the soil. However, even with crop rotation and manure additions, continuous cropping results in a decline in SOC, although the rate and magnitude of the decline is affected by cropping and tillage system, climate and soil. In the oldest of these studies, the influence of tillage on SOC and dependent soil quality indicators can only be inferred from rotation treatments which included ley rotations (with their reduced frequency of tillage). The impact of tillage per se on SOC and soil quality has only been tested in the ‘long-term’ for about 30 yrs, since the advent of conservation tillage techniques, and only in developed countries in temperate regions. Long-term conservation tillage studies have shown that, within climatic limits: Conservation tillage can sustain or actually increase SOC when coupled with intensive cropping systems; and the need for sound rotation practices in order to maintain agronomic productivity and economic sustainability is more critical in conservation tillage systems than conventional tillage systems. Long-term tillage studies are in their infancy. Preserving and improving these valuable resources is critical to our development of soil management practices for sustaining soil quality in continuous cropping systems.

1,211 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The fundamental discoveries of Darwin and Mendel established the scientific basis for plant breeding and genetics at the turn of the 20th century and the recent integration of advances in biotechnology, genomic research, and molecular marker applications with conventional plant breeding is being integrated.
Abstract: The fundamental discoveries of Darwin and Mendel established the scientific basis for plant breeding and genetics at the turn of the 20th century. Similarly, the recent integration of advances in biotechnology, genomic research, and molecular marker applications with conventional plant breeding

1,068 citations