The Domino Effect in Silphium

RAVETTA, D.A.; VAN TASSEL, DAVID; VILELA, A

Saint Paul

Workshop; Third International Silphium meeting. St. Paul, Minnesotta.; 2018

University of Minessota

Domestication and crop improvement have been largely focussed on increasing yield of plants from wild germplasm. While choosing wild candidates for grain production and ecosystem services provision, selection for high-yield inadvertently provoked a cascade of changes at different scales and levels, from crop to anatomy, altering the very same desirable traits for which wild plants were originally preferred. We present a hierarchical model and describe the changes observed in Silphium integrifolium after five generations of breeding for yield. The potential consequences of those changes on plant survival, stress tolerance, pest resistance, resource-use efficiency, nutrients cycling and profitability are discussed.