On-farm conservation of 12 cereal crops among 15 ethnic groups in Yunnan (PR China)

Abstract

Due to the rapid diffusion of improved crop varieties, fewer and fewer landraces are being grown by farmers. The on-farm conservation of crop landraces has been proposed as means of conserving potentially important crop germplasm as an alternative to its ex situ conservation in gene banks, but the effectiveness of this approach is unproven. Particular attention is currently focused on producers sited in remote regions. Here, we report the outcomes of a survey focusing on the conservation and utilization of landraces of corn, rice, wheat, barley, buckwheat, broomcorn sorghum, Job’s tears (coix), oats and finger, foxtail, broomcorn and barnyard millets grown by 15 ethnic groups from Yunnan province (China). Many local varieties are still in existence through their utilization on-farm. The varietal richness per village sampled was estimated to be 3.5 (maximum of 17), with rice and maize being the most heterogeneous, and glutinous sorghum and barnyard millet the least. Varietal richness was significantly and positively correlated with the number of villages surveyed, the number of families and the head of population. The choice of crops and varieties maintained varied between the ethnic groups, with the more westerly and north westerly situated villages conserving the most landraces. The number of crop species used was negatively correlated with per capita annual income, while the correlation coefficient between varietal richness and per capita annual income was less pronounced. The major factors determining the level of on-farm conservation were remoteness, fragmentation of the arable area and cultural needs. The data provide baseline information for the elaboration of optimal strategies for in situ conservation and utilization of crop germplasm in China.