Development of Plant Genetic Resources by Farmers: Some Recent Examples

Abstract

The outstanding contributions made by the farmers in the domestication and improvement of Plant Genetic Resources
(PGR) in the past are well understood and appreciated. But there is a debate on the role of farmers in PGR development
in the present era of predominance of professional plant breeding. We present recent examples of PGR development
in rice (Sharbati) and American cotton (Bikaneri Narma and Jhurar) and domestication of a weed bathu by the farmers
of the Punjab state. The farmers developed these valuable genetic resources in spite of sweeping genetic erosion of
PGR in the Punjab state during last about 40 years.