PLNT 1213 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Selective Breeding, Sweet Potato, Cowpea
Document Summary
Plants are primary producers: photosynthesis energy gives us energy. Biological yield: dry matter produced per plant or per unit area: amount produced/area. Economic yield: dry matter produced that is of valuable (saleable or useful: only the things that are profitable. Caloric content: energy contained in the harvestable product. Harvest index: the ratio of harvestable product to total plant biomass (if 100% is edible, Carbohydrates: #1 source, endosperm is basically nothing but carbs. Lipids: fats and oils, depends on the type of seeds, can also be in the seed coat, and inside the seed too. Proteins: legumes are 30-40% protein, even cereals are >10% protein. Nikolai vavilov said any area with a wide diversity of plant types would likely be the center of origin : vavilov"s theory. Center of origin of a crop is the geographic region of enhanced variablility within a species believed to be the place wehre the crop was first domesticated.
