Traditional Thai hill farmers help preserve genetic diversity of rice
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 - 16:35
in Paleontology & Archaeology
(PhysOrg.com) -- Rice is one of the most important crops worldwide, as it feeds over half of the world's population. Domesticated rice is an important supply of the world's rice. However, these strains are genetically static and cannot adapt to changing growing conditions. Traditional varieties, or landraces, of rice are genetically evolving and provide a pool of traits that can be tapped to improve crops worldwide.