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Plant Diversity
Varied Seeds
Although we cultivate only a fraction of the world's plant species, those we do farm come in a wide variety. There are 30 species of wheat... representing many thousands of varieties! Some are resistant to pests, some can withstand drought and some just taste good. By selecting for, or combining, desirable traits, farmers and scientists are able to develop new -- and better -- varieties.
Yet much plant variety is at risk. Here are some of the ways that people are working to conserve this diversity, even as monoculture -- the planting of a single variety -- has become widespread. |