Landrace Gardening

Most of the watermelons are done for the year and eaten already. Many of them were good tasty Canary Yellows. One Salmon-yellow and one Pink were so/so. I'm trying to not save seeds from now on from any that taste bland like the salmon-yellows. Or others that grow poorly. I think i will also start selecting against those that have bacterial rot at the flower end and those that split open. But i'm happy in the direction these are headed. I have a side breeding project where i am letting some Colorado red-seeded citron being pollinated by the landrace watermelon. I'm hoping that in the future that leads to a more cold-tolerant yellow fleshed red-seeded watermelon strain. Some seeds from those are all crazy colors this year with some partially red-black and others with unique gray spots. Just a side project for now.

Generally the small bowl-sized watermelons are from my garden. I had the opportunity to have a small local organic farmer grow some of the landrace watermelons for me in fertilized soil and on black plastic. Those ones grew a little bigger for him. I was able to purchase and collect a few of those back. The long one looked like a yellow-fleshed Lofthouse Charleston Gray strain to me... but i don't know for sure. I cut it open a little early. Apparently the long ones take longer to ripen so the dry three-tendril method didn't exactly work on those, but it did for my small round ones!

1504369797202 by Andrew Barney, on Flickr

1504731446833 by Andrew Barney, on Flickr

1504731553257 by Andrew Barney, on Flickr

1504833604041 by Andrew Barney, on Flickr

1504913770436 by Andrew Barney, on Flickr

1504928247365 by Andrew Barney, on Flickr

20170916_131127 by Andrew Barney, on Flickr

20170913_084859 by Andrew Barney, on Flickr

It was nice to see a recent paper in 'Frontiers in Plant Science', which suggests adopting the definition of landrace which I have been advocating since 2009.

Front Plant Sci. 2017; 8: 145.  

... we propose a more inclusive definition of landraces, namely that they consist of cultivated varieties that have evolved and may continue evolving, using conventional or modern breeding techniques, in traditional or new agricultural environments within a defined ecogeographical area and under the influence of the local human culture. This includes adaptation of landraces to new management systems and the unconscious or conscious selection made by farmers or breeders using available technology.

Joseph , what's " available technology" as quoted in the above definition and available to whom ? You ? Me or the head of development at a well known chemical company

David

David Livingston wrote:Joseph , what's " available technology" as quoted in the above definition and available to whom ? You ? Me or the head of development at a well known chemical company David

I think that what they were intending by the "available technology" phrase is that they are intending to be inclusive in the definition of landrace instead of exclusive. So in other words, just cause a farmer makes a hybrid, or practices selection, or uses plastic ground-covers, or a greenhouse, that doesn't mean that it's immoral to call his crop a landrace. As another example: If I were breeding rice, I would include the carotene-producing gene in my landrace, because it is "available technology".

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:

David Livingston wrote:Joseph , what's " available technology" as quoted in the above definition and available to whom ? You ? Me or the head of development at a well known chemical company David

I think that what they were intending by the "available technology" phrase is that they are intending to be inclusive in the definition of landrace instead of exclusive. So in other words, just cause a farmer makes a hybrid, or practices selection, or uses plastic ground-covers, or a greenhouse, that doesn't mean that it's immoral to call his crop a landrace. As another example: If I were breeding rice, I would include the carotene-producing gene in my landrace, because it is "available technology".

Thank you for that link, Joseph....much food for thought.  While I can agree that it will be nearly impossible to keep gene flow out of landraces by practical means, I disagree with the authors' assessment that

"...If we wish to continue enjoying cultivars with cultural pedigrees that are intimately associated with specific geographical areas (particular environmental traits) and thus require fewer inputs for their cultivation, the generalist strategy used in modern breeding programs is insufficient (although it will surely continue to supply a large proportion of our alimentary needs)."  

I haven't read the article in full and don't know if they are riding the "feed the necessarily burgeoning population of the entire planet" train with this idea, but I can envision a scenario where even modern breeding programs are unnecessary, fruitful though the have been to producing calories for human consumption.  Your own breeding program would be considered "modern traditional", but would you say that you *must* do all of this careful breeding and selection, or is it done beyond rote need.  I can relate to plant breeding being...FUN!  It's enjoyable to see what emerges from different crosses in terms of appearance, flavor, nutrition, etc.  But is anything *really* needed beyond seeds, selection, observation......and time?  And for all communities and tribes that have engaged in this art, hasn't there probably always been some element of whimsy?....of saying "Hey!....corn cobs with both purple -AND- yellow seeds on the same cob!..Wahoo!"..?

While I agree that it would not be immoral to use the carotene-encoding rice germplasm, why do so?  You have such nice carrot photos.....why use a technofix when you can offer your recipients beta-carotene in much more beautiful expressions of food?  But a detailed article and good to get a glimpse of what the scientific community is thinking with regard to landraces.

The main pushback I have had in creating and promoting "modern landraces" is the idea that a landrace is something that should be curated and belongs in a museum. That they are merely artifacts that were created long ago when people were stupid, and didn't know how to do Mendelian plant breeding.

I just worry that the ,next thing will be patenting "land races "   not that I am bothered about Joseph becoming a millionaire* , its just that "other folks "** might try to stop me making pretty rice for example as well

David

* sounds a great idea to me and I suspect Joseph too
** such as those jolly chaps down at monsanto