What Does the Domestication of a Plant Mean?

Process

• Domestication takes many generations. Genetic diversity and genetic mutations cause some plants in the wild to have slightly different traits. Domestication begins when humans find wild plants and choose the ones that have the most desirable traits, such as the largest fruit or the most nutrition. People use the seeds from one crop of plants to grow the next crop, which gradually changes the characteristics of the plant and reduces the genetic diversity of the crop.

Changes

• Plants change in many ways as they become domesticated. They usually become much larger, produce more seeds and germinate readily instead of staying dormant. In addition, domesticated plants are usually easier to grow than their wild relatives, last longer in storage, have a better taste and texture and are less likely to contain toxic compounds.

History

• Plant domestication began to occur around 14,000 B.C., when the world's climate became warmer and wetter. Humans eventually moved from foraging to cultivating plants and domesticating animals, according to Oregon State University. For example, in the Fertile Crescent, humans began to domesticate wheat, barley, dates, onions, flax, fruit, lentils and olives around 9,500 B.C. Humans in Central America began domesticating maize, Lima beans, squash and peppers around 7,200 B.C.

Pros and Cons

• Domesticating plants allows people to produce food cheaply and get more nutrients and calories from a plant. However, domesticating plants also causes genetically similar crops that are more susceptible to diseases and insects than wild plants that have evolved through natural selection. For example, the potato leaf blight quickly destroyed potatoes in Ireland in 1845. In addition, because humans have bred crops for specific characteristics -- including, in the last 100 years, traits that facilitate mechanized agriculture -- domesticated crops probably wouldn't survive in the wild. For example, corn couldn't grow in the wild because it has no way to disperse its seeds.