VAVILOV’S CENTRE OF ORIGIN OF

CULTIVATED PLANTS

NAME: TASHISH YADAV

ROLL NUMBER: 1117154
LIFE SCIENCES VI SEMESTER
 INTRODUCTION
The centre of origin is a

geographical area where the

particular group of organisms

(either domesticated or wild)

first originated on earth. Many

people believed that centres of

origin are also centres of

diversity. But, the centres of

diversity may not represent the

centres of origin of crop plants. Although a few species may have

been originated separately at more than one place, but most species

had their origin at a certain place and then spread elsewhere. In

other words, in the centre of origin a crop is generally confined to

one place, whereas the centre of diversity may be found at more

than one place. The exact location of origin of species is only a

matter of speculation based on indirect evidences.

The information on origin of crop plants is important in plant

breeding to locate wild relatives, related species and new genes.

Knowledge of the origins of crop plants is important to avoid

genetic erosion, the loss of germplasm due to the loss of ecotypes

and habitat.

The Russian scientist Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov and his colleagues

visited several countries and collected a large number of crop

plants and their wild relatives. They used this collection in Russian

breeding programme of developing improved varieties. His

deductions were based on evidences from morphology, anatomy,

cytology, genetics, plant geography and distribution.

He considered that great centres of origin were always located in

lower mountains and hills of tropical, sub-tropical regions. He also

recognizes some secondary centres of origin where two or more

species crossed together. Secondary centres of origin are the

places where natural and artificial selection occurred on after

another. He stated that plants were not domesticated at random

but it was a continuous process .

 Vavilov centers of origin:
1. South Mexican and Central American Center

2. South American Center: (Peru-Ecuador-Bolivia)

(2A)Southern Chile

(2B)Paraguay-Southern Brazil

3. Mediterranean Center

4. Middle East Center

5. Abyssinian Center

6. Central Asiatic Center

7. Indian Center

(7): Indo-Burma
 (7A): Siam-Malaya-Java

8. Chinese Center

 South Mexican and Central American Center

Includes southern sections of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and

Costa Rica.

 Grains and Legumes: maize, common bean, lima bean, tepary

bean, jack bean, grain amaranth

 Melon Plants: Malabar gourd, winter pumpkin, chayote

 Fiber Plants: upland cotton, bourbon cotton, henequen (sisal)

 Miscellaneous: sweet potato, arrowroot, pepper, papaya, guava,

cashew, wild black cherry, cochineal, cherry tomato, cacao.

 South American Center: (Peru-Ecuador-Bolivia)

62 plants listed; three sub centers

 Peruvian, Ecuadorean, Bolivian Center:

 Root Tubers: Andean potato, other endemic cultivated

potato species. Fourteen or more species with

chromosome numbers varying from 24 to 60, Edible

nasturtium

 Grains and Legumes: starchy maize, lima bean, common

bean

 Root Tubers: edible canna, potato

 Vegetable Crops: pepino, tomato, ground cherry, pumpkin,

pepper

 Fiber Plants: Egyptian cotton

 Fruit and Miscellaneous: cocoa, passion flower, guava,

heilborn, quinine tree, tobacco, cherimoya, coca

2A) Chiloe Center (Island near the coast of southern Chile)

 Common potato (48 chromosomes), Chilean strawberry

2B) Brazilian-Paraguayan Center

 Manioc, peanut, rubber tree, pineapple, Brazil nut, cashew,

Erva-mate, purple granadilla.

 Mediterranean Center
Includes interior of Asia Minor, all of Transcaucasia, Iran, and the

highlands of Turkmenistan.

83 species

 Grains and Legumes: einkorn wheat, durum wheat, poulard

wheat, common wheat, oriental wheat, Persian wheat, two-

row barley, rye, Mediterranean oats, common oats, lentil,

lupine

 Forage Plants: alfalfa, Persian clover, fenugreek, vetch,

hairy vetch

 Fruits: fig, pomegranate, apple, pear, quince, cherry,

hawthorn.
 Abyssinian Center
Includes Ethiopia, Eritrea, and part of Somalia.

38 species listed; rich in wheat and barley.

 Grains and Legumes: Abyssinian hard wheat, poulard

wheat, emmer, Polish wheat, barley, grain sorghum, pearl

millet, African millet, cowpea, flax, teff

 Miscellaneous: sesame, castor bean, garden cress, coffee,

okra, myrrh, indigo, enset.

 Central Asiatic Center
Includes Northwest India (Punjab, Northwest Frontier Provinces

and Kashmir), Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and western

Tian-Shan. 43 plants

 Grains and Legumes: common wheat, club wheat, shot

wheat, peas, lentil, horse bean, chickpea, mung bean,

mustard, flax, sesame

 Fiber Plants: hemp, cotton

 Vegetables: onion, garlic, spinach, carrot

 Fruits: pistachio, pear, almond, grape, apple.

 Indian Center
Two sub centers: Indo-Burma: Main Center (India): Includes Assam,

Bangladesh and Burma, but not Northwest India, Punjab, nor

Northwest Frontier Provinces

117 plants

 Cereals and Legumes: chickpea, pigeon pea, urn bean, mung

bean, rice bean, cowpea,

 Vegetables and Tubers: eggplant, cucumber, radish, taro,

yam

 Fruits: mango, tangerine, citron, tamarind

 Sugar, Oil, and Fiber Plants: sugar cane, coconut palm,

sesame, safflower, tree cotton, oriental cotton, jute, crotalaria,

kenaf

 Spices, Stimulants, Dyes, and Miscellaneous: hemp, black

pepper, gum Arabic , sandalwood, indigo, cinnamon tree,

croton, bamboo, turmeric,

Siam-Malaya-Java: Indo-Malayan Center: Includes Indo-China and

the Malay Archipelago

55 plants

 Cereals and Legumes: Job's tears, velvet bean

 Fruits: pummelo, banana, breadfruit, mangosteen

 Oil, Sugar, Spice, and Fiber Plants: candlenut, coconut palm,

sugarcane, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, manila hemp.

 Chinese Center
A total of 136 endemic plants are listed in the largest independent

center

 Cereals and Legumes: e.g. rice, broomcorn millet, Italian

millet, Japanese barnyard millet, sorghum, buckwheat, hull-

less barley, soybean, Adzuki bean, velvet bean

 Roots, Tubers, and Vegetables: e.g. Chinese yam, radish,

Chinese cabbage, onion, cucumber

 Fruits and Nuts: e.g. pear, Chinese apple, peach, apricot,

cherry, walnut, litchi, orange

  Sugar, Drug, and Fiber Plants: e.g. sugar cane, opium poppy,

ginseng camphor, hemp.

 Limitations of Vavilov's views

The expansion of our understanding on cultivated plants pointed

certain limitations on Vavilov’s views. These views require some

modifications,

 Vavilov considered the region with greatest genetic diversity

of a species as the centre of origin of that species. But now,

many such species are known whose centres of origin and

genetic diversity are different. For example, Maize and

Tomato.

 The centres of origin of cultivated plants as per Vavilov are

limited to the mountains and small hills in tropical and sub-

tropical regions. But recent evidences also suggest plains as

the centres of origin of many cultivated plants.

 Today several crops are known whose centres of origin are

different from the ones suggested by Vavilov. Moreover there

is more than one centre of origin. Also, the origin of many of

 the species cannot be traced due to lack of sufficient

evidence.

 According to Vavilov primary centre is marked by high

frequency of dominant alleles towards the centre and

recessive towards the periphery. But this view is not

acceptable as per the latest knowledge.