CRB: Enthnobiology and Ecology of Wheat Landrace Conservation in Central Turkey

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This award to a cultural anthropologist and a geneticist will allow a comprehensive study of the biological diversity of wheat in Turkey. The evidence suggests that wheat was domesticated in Turkey and has been grown there for over 8,000 years. There is an enormous wealth of biological diversity in the types of wheat now being grown, although the introduction of new varieties that are fitted to high yielding production methods is threatening that storehouse of biological information. This project will study how farmers use different types of wheat, relate the variation in use to socio-economic and environmental variation, and set up conservation procedures to maintain the diversity that exists. The research will draw upon a comprehensive collection of wheat types collected in 1948, before the green revolution. This project is important because understanding why farmers maintain diverse crop types will help us design policies to encourage diversity; and conserving the genetic substance of diverse plants will provide a valuable heritage for the future.