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his fundamental paper on the Centers of Origin of Cultivated Plants (1926) to Alfonse DeCandolle, another of his well-respected mentors. DeCandolle first posed questions concerning independent centers of origin for plants, but Vavilov took this
Mesoamerican origin because of the extensive commerce among Mexico, the Caribbean islands, and Spain ( Rodino et al., 2006 ). In 1528 Pizzaro explored Peru, opening the possibility of introducing common bean from South America. Within Europe there was likely a
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov ( Fig. 1 ) was one of the foremost innovators of plant improvement during the first half of the twentieth century. His major achievements include the prescient Law of Homologous Variation, the concept of Centers of Origin
Asia as a center of origin for almond as a result of the diversity of almond-related species that occur in the region. As a result of this long association with humans, determining the extent of the natural distribution of P. dulcis has been
first introduced to Europe at the end of the 16th century and then experienced worldwide distribution over several centuries ( Hawkes, 1992 ). Over time, skin and flesh color outside the center of origin have been reduced to a few types that represent a
southern Brazil ( Pickersgill, 1971 ), although it is popularly grown and consumed in many parts of the world. C. chinense is of Amazonian origin and is indigenous to South America and the Caribbean ( Eshbaugh, 1993 ; Heiser, 1976 ). Although C. annuum
Apple is one of the most important species among the temperate fruit crops. According to Vavilov (1930) , Central Asia is the center of origin for the domestic apple. His theory of “geography of genes,” that germplasm for breeding for resistance
lines resistant to CPM after screening 150 accessions of a global collection of bitter gourd in the World Vegetable Center genebank against the local CPM population at Kamphaeng Saen (Thailand). A single resistant plant was identified in each of five
, on average), and the region is noted as the origin of the state’s cider apple industry, while the two central Washington orchards have a hot, dry summer climate (15.9 °C, 95 mm precipitation, on average) and are in the center of the state’s dessert