Crop wild relatives possess many valuable traits that are fairly easily identifiable, such as resistance to pests and diseases, salinity tolerance, and drought tolerance. However, scientists have also discovered valuable genetic diversity in crop wild relatives that is not only hidden, but also somewhat unexpected. For example, genes for higher yield have been found in Oryza rufipogon, even though this wild rice species has low grain yield. Crossing O. rufipogon with cultivated rice has produced hybrids with higher yields than the original cultivated variety, much as if a tall and short humans had children that were taller than the taller parent.[i]
