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Can anyone kindly explain the marked text?
There are 150 potato species growing in Andes. But outside the region, the world's crop comes from a single specie. Why does this exactly mean the crop is vulnerable to disease? Thanks!
There are 150 potato species growing in Andes. But outside the region, the world's crop comes from a single specie. Why does this exactly mean the crop is vulnerable to disease? Thanks!
Last edited by frenchfries_; 5 months ago
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(Original post by Theloniouss)
Are you confused about why the world's crop is vulnerable to disease?
Are you confused about why the world's crop is vulnerable to disease?
Why does cultivating a single specie only of the crop in most of the world make it vulnerable to disease? They are correlating the vulnerability of potato to the fact only one specie is cultivated in most of the world. I don't exactly understand why.
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#4
(Original post by frenchfries_)
It says "outside the region the world's crop comes from a single species and SO is vulnerable to disease".
Why does cultivating a single specie only of the crop in most of the world make it vulnerable to disease? They are correlating the vulnerability of potato to the fact only one specie is cultivated in most of the world. I don't exactly understand why.
It says "outside the region the world's crop comes from a single species and SO is vulnerable to disease".
Why does cultivating a single specie only of the crop in most of the world make it vulnerable to disease? They are correlating the vulnerability of potato to the fact only one specie is cultivated in most of the world. I don't exactly understand why.
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#5
The less species there are, the less genetic diversity there is. Less diversity means that the potato might not have the ability to protect itself from certain diseases. So if the worlds species of potato is vulnerable to a bacteria, it could make all the worlds potatoes get the disease and die.
I guess they’re trying to show that, if all our potatoes did die out, we could potentially use one of the 150 potato species existing in the Andes. One of these species might not be vulnerable to the bacteria that killed the worlds potato supply.
Hope this helps!
I guess they’re trying to show that, if all our potatoes did die out, we could potentially use one of the 150 potato species existing in the Andes. One of these species might not be vulnerable to the bacteria that killed the worlds potato supply.
Hope this helps!
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#6
(Original post by frenchfries_)
It says "outside the region the world's crop comes from a single species and SO is vulnerable to disease".
Why does cultivating a single specie only of the crop in most of the world make it vulnerable to disease? They are correlating the vulnerability of potato to the fact only one specie is cultivated in most of the world. I don't exactly understand why.
It says "outside the region the world's crop comes from a single species and SO is vulnerable to disease".
Why does cultivating a single specie only of the crop in most of the world make it vulnerable to disease? They are correlating the vulnerability of potato to the fact only one specie is cultivated in most of the world. I don't exactly understand why.
Does that make sense?
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(Original post by Theloniouss)
Different species are vulnerable to different diseases, if that helps
Different species are vulnerable to different diseases, if that helps
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(Original post by hazisgolden)
The less species there are, the less genetic diversity there is. Less diversity means that the potato might not have the ability to protect itself from certain diseases. So if the worlds species of potato is vulnerable to a bacteria, it could make all the worlds potatoes get the disease and die.
I guess they’re trying to show that, if all our potatoes did die out, we could potentially use one of the 150 potato species existing in the Andes. One of these species might not be vulnerable to the bacteria that killed the worlds potato supply.
Hope this helps!
The less species there are, the less genetic diversity there is. Less diversity means that the potato might not have the ability to protect itself from certain diseases. So if the worlds species of potato is vulnerable to a bacteria, it could make all the worlds potatoes get the disease and die.
I guess they’re trying to show that, if all our potatoes did die out, we could potentially use one of the 150 potato species existing in the Andes. One of these species might not be vulnerable to the bacteria that killed the worlds potato supply.
Hope this helps!
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(Original post by Reality Check)
Yes, it's a lack of genetic diversity. If you had several species growing, each will have different susceptibilities to different diseases: some will be resistant, others will not. Thus, if a particularly disease takes hold and affects one species, and you're only growing one species, then your whole crop is affected. If you have lots of different species, all with different susceptibilities to disease due to their genetic diversity, then you can have plenty of non-disease affected crops as well as the diseased ones.
Does that make sense?
Yes, it's a lack of genetic diversity. If you had several species growing, each will have different susceptibilities to different diseases: some will be resistant, others will not. Thus, if a particularly disease takes hold and affects one species, and you're only growing one species, then your whole crop is affected. If you have lots of different species, all with different susceptibilities to disease due to their genetic diversity, then you can have plenty of non-disease affected crops as well as the diseased ones.
Does that make sense?
Thanks a lot for your explanation, cleared things up more for me.
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