Economically, legumes (Fabaceae) represent the second most important family of crop
plants after the grass family, Poaceae. Grain legumes account for 27% of world crop …

Alongside the use of fertilizer and chemical control of weeds, pests, and diseases modern
breeding has been very successful in generating cultivars that have increased agricultural …

The need to boost agricultural production in the coming decades in a climate change
scenario requires new approaches for the development of new crop varieties that are more …

There are many potential approaches to systematic CWR conservation. But as every country
contains CWR diversity, they are obliged as signatories to the CBD and ITPGRFA, or other …

Growing concern over the potentially devastating impacts of climate change on biodiversity
and food security, considered together with the growing world population, means that taking …

Background The wild relatives of crops represent a major source of valuable traits for crop
improvement. These resources are threatened by habitat destruction, land use changes, and …

Genebanks play an important role in the long-term conservation of plant genetic resources
and are complementary to the conservation of diversity in farmers' fields and in nature. In this …

During the last century, the progressive substitution of landraces with modern, high yielding
varieties, led to a dramatic reduction of in situ conserved crop diversity in Europe. Nowadays …

The realized dangers of genetic erosion in plant genetic resources have prompted political
and scientific movements around the world to conserve plant genetic resources over the last …

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are plant species which are more or less closely related to crops.
They are a vital resource by providing a pool of genetic variation that can be used in …