SCIENTISTS are searching far flung corners of the globe looking for wild relatives of common crops as they bid to secure food supplies in the face of exponential population growth and climate change. 

An article by Ben Barnett details the search for wild varieties from a range of priority crops by the Crop Trust and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London. The wild relatives contain potential traits to use in the adaptation of agriculture to climate change and these traits are not found in domesticated crops. Furthermore, these wild relatives can be used to breed resilient and adaptable crops to ensure food security.

Marie Haga, executive director of Crop Trust, said: “These wild relatives can have traits that can help us to solve problems, in adapting plants to whatever it is, the need for plants to use less water, higher nutritional value or that they can stand higher salinity.”

Read the article here