COMPARING AND CONTRASTING NATURAL VERSUS MANAGED CARYA SYSTEMS

Abstract

The Carya agroecosystem arises from a diverse natural system that continues to yield new information to benefit science and agriculture despite the limited attention the latter has received. Carya domestication has been driven by the pursuit of human valued resources with limited focus on how an increased understanding of the natural system can benefit the managed system. Conservation of the natural system is needed to develop cultivars that are more easily and sustainably managed now and also to provide the diversity needed to adapt to changing needs that occur in the industry and the society. Simultaneously, the recent communication revolution brought about by the internet and widely embraced by the public provides new ways for all stakeholders interested in Carya to pursue matters of mutual interest. The technology minimizes previous constraints to communication posed by space, time, format and access so that real time interactive communication involving large amounts of complex information can be used to analyze and solve problems in real time. This warrants further exploitation.