5. Vavilov's Law of Homologous Series and de novo crop plant domestication

Abstract

The law of homologous series, if valid, should provide us with useful guidelines in the domestication of new crop plants. The value of domesticants is likely to be in the production of materials which are in demand but otherwise unavailable in adequate amount or in the exploitation of agriculturally marginal environments where established crop plants are unreliable in performance. A model for such a system of new domestication can be developed in the Leguminosae and the tribe Phaseoleae in particular (...)