Landraces: Traditional Variety and Natural Breed

Conservation and genetic diversity in crops are essential elements of sustainable solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and livelihood improvement. Unsustainable use of natural resources, promotion of genetically uniform varieties over local varieties, introduction of alien invasive species, changing human consumption patterns, lack of or inappropriate legislation and policy, and climate change all threaten crop diversity.

Food safety has long been associated with abundant main crops producing cereal, roots and tubers, vegetables, and fruits to supply affordable nutrient energy sources. However, this image has changed as the concept of nutritional security has become an important component of food safety, and food diversity has become the fundamental component of human health.

In both extreme wild and trade forms, conceptualizations appear clear in the broad range of plant materials regarding domestication and/or reproduction. Wild plants are not domesticated or subject to artificial selection and reproduction processes. They do not show any typical crop features, such as uniform germination of seeds and fruit maturation. Commercial varieties are produced by a breeding program to improve certain features of the crop.