Following in Vavilov's footsteps

In the countries of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, much of the land is semi desert. Some 65% could be described as rangeland, whereas only 7% is suitable for arable farming. Despite the marginal nature of the landscape, it is a region rich in biodiversity. But changes in agricultural practices, due to a combination of increasing population and land degradation, are threatening the existence of a treasure trove of genetic material that could be vital for sustaining dryland agriculture in the future.

During the 1920s N.I Vavilov pioneered efforts to collect landraces from regions that had previously remained unexplored. Thousands of accessions were accumulated, documented and conserved. And, as Director of the Russian Institute of Plant Industry, Vavilov set up a network of over 100 experimental stations in order to characterize and test the collected material over the widest possible geographical range. Today, the N.I. Vavilov Institute, as it is now known, in St Petersburg continues to be renowned for its accomplishments. Despite years of civil unrest, its ex situ genebank still maintains much of Vavilov's original collection although since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the network of regional stations, many of which now reside in independent republics, has struggled to survive due to lack of funds and inadequate training. However, training and technical backstopping of scientists from the central Asian and Caucasian republics is an integral part of an *ACIAR-funded ICARDA project to collect and conserve endangered cereal and legume varieties from the region. Lens orientalis, an ancestor of lentil, was, for instance, just one of the interesting discoveries in the Kopedag mountains during a recent collection mission to Turkmenistan.

Credit:David Abbass

In a region much of which is characterised by low rainfall and extremes of temperature, it is perhaps surprising that such a wide variety of genetic material can be found; including not only wild relatives of food legumes, but also the ancestors of modern wheat and barley varieties. In fact the diversity exists as a consequence of this harsh and variable climate. As Ken Street, ICARDA leader for the collection missions undertaken in the area is keen to emphasise, "The beneficial traits derived from genebanks and used by plant breeders already account for millions of tonnes of increased agricultural production. The genetic adaptation contained within the accessions collected from this region may well hold the key to crops of the future which will have to withstand the effects of global warming and a less predictable climate."

Traits for drought, heat and disease

Traits for drought, heat and disease tolerance are essential if a crop is to be grown in dryland conditions. Going back to the region from which many of the world's most important crops originated is a reasonable place to search for such traits. However, the croplands, rangelands and mountain hillsides of the central Asian region are under pressure from changed farming practices. Traditionally farmers grew a mixture of crops to offset risk and to stabilize yields and, in many cases, it was possible to find ancient landraces growing amongst improved varieties. However, in a drive for food security, natural pasture and fodder crops once used for animal production are being replaced by more intensive cereal production. The rangeland that remains for livestock is suffering as a result. Traditional crops are being replaced by modern varieties and wild varieties are lost as a consequence of environmental degradation. For how much longer will natives of the region, such as Aegilops tuachii or Hordeum spontaneum, the progenitors of wheat and barley, be found growing in small patches on a mountain hillside?

It is possible that these species will continue to survive but that it will simply become much more difficult to locate them. Their conservation is therefore essential. To date, six collection missions covering a distance of more than 10,000 km through a diversity of environments ranging from deserts of Azerbaijan, Kazakstan and Turkmenistan to the irrigated salt affected lands of Uzbekistan and the rugged mountains of Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, have been completed by the ICARDA-led team. In all, over 1,000 accessions have been collected representing over 120 species or subspecies of food and forage crops.

After so many kilometres bumping along through many remote areas of the region, in temperatures up to 40°, eating and sleeping in harsh conditions, has Ken Street's wanderlust been sated? Far from it, it seems, as he enthusiastically describes his recent mission to Turkmenistan. And the next, to Armenia, and the disputed territory of Nagorno-Kharabakh, will be a first. It is known to be an area rich with cereal landraces and yet, as far as anyone can tell, it is not an area that is represented in genebank collections, even those set up by Vavilov. But this work is not simply to recreate Vavilov's collections. What is important, stresses Ken Street, is to recognise the intrinsic value of each plant, whether it is a progenitor of wheat, garlic or onion, and to see that each will have its novel genes that can contribute to future agricultural production.

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