Lecture 3: Agricultural & Plant Domestication

Question 1

_____ (also called farming or husbandry) is the cultivation of animals and plants, and other life forms for food, fibers, medicine and other products used to sustain life.

Answer 1

Agriculture

Question 2

When and why was agriculture established?

Answer 2

10,000 years ago, right before agriculture began, the world’s total human population was about 5 million.

Agriculture was necessary to evolve to provide subsistence for more people.

Question 3

True or False: Agriculture made possible a shift from a nomadic way of life to human settlements.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

True or False: Society became more simple when agriculture was established

Answer 4

False, more complex with the diversification of labor force

Question 5

True or False: People unconsciously selected plants for things they wanted (ie, fruit, seeds,) which lead to domestication

Answer 5

True

Question 6

Artificial selection has led to the evolution of ______ plants.

Answer 6

Cultivated

Question 7

What is an example of artificial selection in the direction of increasing the size of harvested organs?

Answer 7

Carrots

Question 8

True or False: They are still subspecies because they can still genetically cross, that’s why when you cultivate, you have to make sure you remove all the wild carrots

Answer 8

True

Question 9

What is another example of artificial selection in the direction of increasing the size of harvested organs.

Answer 9

Corn

Question 10

True or False: Corn existed on its own in the wild

Answer 10

False

Question 11

What is two examples of artificial selection in the direction of increasing the diversity of harvested organs?

Answer 11

Cabbage - Brassica oleracea.

Peppers (berry)

Question 12

What is an example of artificial selection in the direction of increasing the size of flowers and number of petals; also more colors.

Answer 12

Rose

Question 13

True or False: Ornamental plants have been domesticated very recently

Answer 13

True

Question 14

_____ is a plant “race” that has been selected intentionally and maintained through cultivation

Answer 14

cultivar

Question 15

True or False: Cultivars do not exist in nature.

Answer 15

True

Question 16

How many cultivars does the rose have?

Answer 16

tens of thousands of cultivars

Question 17

True or False: As a result of artificial selection, there is little variation within species for parts of the plant that are not of interest to man.

Answer 17

True

Question 18

True or False: The reduced genetic diversity decreases susceptibility to pests and diseases.

Answer 18

False, increases

Question 19

______ is reserving seeds in special conditions (ie, low temperature) to preserve viability

Answer 19

Germplasm collection

Question 20

How mant species of plants are cultivated for food?

Answer 20

about 5000

Question 21

How many species of plants domesticated as ornamentals?

Answer 21

Over 50 000

Question 22

True or False: Because domestic plants have diverged significantly from a genetic point of view from heir wild progenitors

Answer 22

True

Question 23

Who created a institute that remains an important resource for germplasm maintenance, access, and utilization.

Answer 23

Nicolai Vavilov

Question 24

What are Vavilov’s 8 centres of origin?

Answer 24

1 China
2 India
2a Indochina
3 Central Asia (N. India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan)
4 The Near East
5 Mediterranean Sea, coastal and adjacent regions
6 Ethiopia
7 Southern Mexico and Middle America
8 Northeastern South America, Bolivia, Ecudor, Peru
8a Chile

Question 25

What are the plants from the near East?

Answer 25

Wheat - Triticum spp. 
Barley - Hordeum vulgare 
Peas - Pisum sativum
Chickpeas - Cicer arietinum 
Olives - Olea europaea 
Dates - Phoenix dactylifera
Grapes - Vitis vinifera – 
Flax - Linum usitatissimum – food and fiber

Question 26

Where are chickpeas and dates found now?

Answer 26

Mexico and mediterranean

Question 27

What are the plants of China and E Asia?

Answer 27

Rice - Oryza sativa
Soybeans - Glycine max
Mango - Mangifera indica
Various kinds of citrus fruits - Citrus sp.
Bananas - Musa x paradisiaca

Question 28

What are the plants of Africa?

Answer 28

Coffee - Coffea arabica 
Sorghum - Sorghum sp. 
Millet grains - several species (developed independently from China)
Yams - Dioscorea sp. 
Cotton - Gossypium sp.

Question 29

What are the plants of mesoamerica?

Answer 29

Corn - Zea mays, 
kidney beans - Phaseolus vulgaris 
lima beans - P. lunatus 
Peanuts - Arachis hypogaea
cotton (developed independently from Africa) 
Chili peppers – Capsicum sp.
Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) 
Tomatoes – Solanum lycopersicon
Tobacco - Nicotiana tabacum 
Cacao - Theobroma cacao 
Pineapple - Ananas comosus 
Pumpkins, squashes - Cucurbita sp. 
Avocados - Persea americana

Question 30

What are the plants of South America?

Answer 30

Potato  -Solanum tuberosum and many related species 
Tomatoes – Solanum lycopersicon
Quinoa - Chenopodium quinoa 
Amaranth (Amaranthus sp.)
Strawberries (Fragaria chiloensis)