Preface

Plant breeding is a discipline that has evolved with the development of human societies. Similar to the rapid changes in other disciplines during the twentieth
century, plant breeding has changed from selection based on the phenotype of individuals to selection based on the information derived at the deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) level in molecular genetic laboratories and data from replicated field experiments. The initial beginnings of plant breeding occurred when humans made
the transition from a nomadic hunter–gatherer lifestyle to the development of communities, colonies, tribes, and civilizations. The more sedentary lifestyle required that adequate food supplies (both plant and animal) were available within the immediate surrounding areas. The plants available within the immediate areas became very important to sustain the food, fuel, fiber, and feed needs of the local settlements. Hence, the greater the grain and forage yields of the native plants, the greater the sustainability of the needs of the local settlements. They recognized the relative importance of some plant species that could meet the needs of the settlements and practiced selection of individual plants that had greater grain and/or forage yields. Seed was saved from desirable plants to perpetuate the plants in the next growing season. By present-day standards, the methods of selection would seem simplistic because selection was based only on the phenotype of individual plants. But the selection methods were effective to develop landrace cultivars that provided substance for the local settlements to prosper and expand into regional civilizations. The landrace cultivars also were the germplasm resources for future generations of plant breeding. The original plant breeders, therefore, provided the plant resources for the development of human societies and the germplasm resources to sustain modern human societies.

http://www.forumfood.org/zyr/indir.p...96348280e5.pdf