A Review on the Importance of World Plant Reservations for the Preservation of Crop Germplasm

Development of the human population accompanied by current climate change is in contrast to a relatively small spectrum of crops utilized for food. A small basic number of utilized crops are very disadvantageous from the ecological view and security of human food resources. Due to long-term genetic erosion, the increasing similarity of varieties etc., there is a necessity to use the opportunities offered by national parks and other localities, i.e., to search for new genotypes for plant breeding or as a new crop. From a historical view, the beginning of genetic erosion is an old affair, which happened in the Amazon region of South America. This occurred after 1492 when Europeans began to occupy the Amazon region. Indian populations used 138 or more species (crops) probably in a high state of domestication. The following decline of their populations has resulted in a decreasing number of crops used. The second unfavorable trend, the growth of cultivar similarity occurred mostly in the 20th century. Breeding to increase yield, quality and resistance to pests and diseases have led to the narrowing of the gene pool and genetic diversity. Crop resistance to stress at the time of seed growth and development that subsequently influence the future properties of seeds at filial generation. Cultivars are more similar from the morphological and physiological view. It is a disadvantageous process. It can be mentioned that there is a large number of wild plants so far not explored, which are growing in extreme localities and thus probably have the desired properties for new climatic and soil conditions. We should search for them not only in traditional but also in unexplored nature reserves.