Crop diversity is the breadth of genetic, varietal, and species variation present in cultivated plants and their wild relatives, encompassing the differences in traits, alleles, and adaptations that exist within and among crops. It underpins food security, nutritional quality, and the resilience of agricultural syst…
Crop diversity is the breadth of genetic, varietal, and species variation present in cultivated plants and their wild relatives, encompassing the differences in traits, alleles, and adaptations that exist within and among crops. It underpins food security, nutritional quality, and the resilience of agricultural systems, providing the raw material that breeders and farmers draw upon to improve yield, quality, and tolerance to pests, diseases, and environmental stress. Diversity is characterized at multiple levels, from morphological and agronomic traits to molecular markers and whole-genome variation, and is conserved both in situ within farming systems and ex situ in germplasm collections, seed banks, and cryopreserved tissues. Maintaining and exploiting this variation enables adaptation to changing climates, diversification of production, and the breeding of improved cultivars. The scholarship gathered here illustrates these themes through analyses of genetic diversity and morphometric variation in crops such as chilli, epigenetic variation relevant to rapid rice breeding, characterization and conservation of germplasm including cocoyam, sustainable and conservation-oriented cultivation practices, and the cryopreservation of plant reproductive material. Together these studies show how the assessment, conservation, and use of crop diversity support productive, sustainable, and adaptable agriculture, and safeguard genetic resources for future improvement and resilience.
6 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 6 articles above have been cited 19 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Crop Diversity, linking to each citing work.