Title: Agriculture: From a Development Perspective to Plant Resource Domestication
Abstract:Plant Resource Domestication (PRD) is generally accepted as a continuum of different phases of human-plant interactions but its value in the development of agriculture remains to be explored. The orig...Plant Resource Domestication (PRD) is generally accepted as a continuum of different phases of human-plant interactions but its value in the development of agriculture remains to be explored. The origin of PRD can be traced to an initial transfer of valuable native plants from their natural habitats to agricultural ecosystems. The later phase of the domestication process involves the genetic improvement of cultivated plants. Plants subjected to the different aspects of domestication manifest a modification to their form and an enhancement of their function. As cultivated plants manifest profound changes in morphology and physiology so also they progress into becoming crops that are highly productive. The higher productivity that defines the latter stages of PRD is often achieved through series of selection and plant breeding programmes. These stages or Plant Development Levels provide clues into the development pattern intrinsic to agriculture and inform the proposal concerning the nature of agriculture as well as its development.Read More