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Plant breeding is the science of changing

plant genetics to help humankind. Plant

breeders are among the unsung heroes of

agriculture. They work “behind the scenes”

creating varieties that increase the economic

value and decrease the environmental

impact of plants by improving yields,

drought tolerance and disease resistance,

which allows farmers to use fewer

pesticides. Plant breeders also work with

ornamental plants. These plants are grown

not for their food value but for their flower

display, attractive foliage (leaves), shade

value or even their scents.

Plant breeding has been around for

thousands of years. Ancient farmers used

the process of selection to find and grow the

best and most productive fruits, grains, and

vegetables. Selection was the earliest form

of plant breeding. Early famers helped

domesticate many of the fruits, vegetables

and grains that we eat today. Domestication

refers to humans selecting and propagating

plants with favorable characteristics over

time. In fact, the wild relatives of many

crops look very different from their modern,

domesticated descendants.

Today, plant breeders use their knowledge

of genetics to produce new and improved

varieties of plants. Advances in molecular

genetics have allowed plant breeders to be

even more precise.

What percentage of the foods

we buy in the grocery store are

products of plant breeding?

Skill Level: Intermediate (11-

13 years old)

Learner Outcomes:

Understands that many plants

we use today look different

from their crop wild relatives.

Understands that the center

of origin is where a crop was

originally domesticated.

Education Standard(s):

NSES: Science in Personal and

Social Perspectives; History

and Nature of Science.

NTES: Research and

Information Fluency

Sunshine State Standard:

SC.7.L.16.4

Success Indicator:

Recognizes that plant

breeding touches their lives

every day.

Life Skill(s): Decision

making, critical thinking

Tags: plant breeding,

selection, crop wild relatives,

center of origin

Time Needed: 60-90 minutes

Materials List: items from

grocery store (see full list);

crop wild relative cards,

center of origin maps,

computers with internet

access, online research

worksheet, colored

pencils/markers

What is Plant Breeding?

Learn More

Wild relatives of

common crops

may hold key to

future of food.

http://foodfreedo

m.wordpress.com/

2010/12/10/wild-

relatives-of-

common-crops-

may-hold-key-to-

future-of-food/

Virtual Fun

Play with plant

genetics, cross

flowers, watch

them mutate!

http://www.funny

-ames.biz/seed-

game.html

The 4-H Name & Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707. “Foundation for the Gator Nation”- An Equal Opportunity Employer

What to Do:

Beforehand, purchase or gather the following items and place them on a table: Peanut

butter, rice, pasta, box of cereal, t-shirt, popcorn, beef jerky, tomato, grapes, and apple

juice. Keep the items covered up with a tablecloth until you are ready to conduct this

activity. Give each youth a piece of paper and a pencil. Uncover the items on the table,

and in groups of three or four, ask them to come over to the table and look at the

items. Ask them to write down which items are the products of plant breeders. Give

them about 10 minutes to complete the task. Ask youth to share their answers and

discuss the results.

Distribute the Crop Wild Relative Cards and ask the youth to match up the pictures of

plants that they think are related. After 8-10 minutes, ask the youth to discuss their

results and why they matched the cards the way they did.

Plant breeders have been around for thousands of years. At the beginning of human

civilization early farmers picked out the best looking, strongest, and highest yielding

plants from of their natural habitats to plant in their gardens, and began to

domesticate that crop. A domesticated plant is one that has been taken from the wild

and had its life cycle, behavior or appearance changed as a result of plant breeding by

humans. All the fruits and vegetables in your local grocery store started out

thousands of years ago as wild plants growing in the fields and forests of our

ancestors. These wild plants are called crop wild relatives.

In the “Old World,” (Asia, Europe, and Africa) farmers began domesticating plants

about 5,000 years ago. In the “New World” (North, South and Central America)

domestication of plants began 3,000 years ago. Why do you think New World Farmers

started later? Allow youth to discuss reasons why.

All domesticated crop plants have wild relatives or wild plants related to what you see

today in a supermarket. Some of these wild plants look similar to their modern-day,

domesticated versions, others do not. A center of origin is the location in the world a

crop was originally domesticated. This is where early farmers selected the wild

relative and began domesticating, or breeding it until it became the plant it is today.

Divide the youth into groups of 2-3, and assign each group 1 or 2 crops to research

their center of origin on the Internet. Give each group a center of origin map, as well

as a Research Worksheet. You may want to review tips for researching online ahead

of time (refer to the Research Worksheet at the end of this lesson). Allow 15-20

minutes for youth to complete their research, then ask each group to share their

results.

Did You Know? Ninety-nine percent of the foods available in grocery stores are a product of plant breeding! Glossary Words Selection Genetics Plant Breeding Crop Wild Relative Domesticated Center of Origin Related Activities (Link to Activities in the 4-H Directory of Materials)

The 4-H Name & Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707. “Foundation for the Gator Nation”- An Equal Opportunity Employer

TALK IT OVER:

Share. . . .

What did you like the most about this lesson? What did you like the least?

What were some of the things that were hard to understand when you first started learning about

plant breeding and the origin of crops?

What new words did you learn?

Reflect. . .

Did you experience any problems trying to find credible information about the origin of plants?

Why is it important for other people to know about plant breeding?

What did you learn in a group that you might not have learned alone?

Generalize. . . .

What did you learn about plant breeding as a result of this activity?

How will learning about plant breeding help you?

Where can you find credible sources of information to learn more about plant breeding?

Apply. .

Is there anything you will do differently as a result of what you learned today? If so, what?

How can what you learned today help you in other situations in the future?

References

Anitei, S. (May 24, 2007). How Did Stone Age People Start to Make Agriculture? Softpedia. Retrieved from http:// www.news.softpedia.com/news/How-Did-Stone-Age-People-Start-To-Make-Agriculture- 55566.shtml.

Biodiversity International. (2006). Crop Wild Relatives. Retrieved from http://www.bioversityinternational.org/scientific_information/themes/crop_wild_relatives/overview.html.

Corlis, W.R. (March-April 1993). Where did agriculture really begin? Science Frontiers Online, No. 86. Retrieved from http:// www.science-frontiers.com/sf086/sf086a02.htm

Garofalo, M.P. (Ed.). (May 4, 2010). The History of Gardening: A Timeline from Ancient Times to the

Twentieth Century. Gardening Digest. Retrieved from http://www.gardendigest.com/timegl.htm.

The 4-H Name & Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707. “Foundation for the Gator Nation”- An Equal Opportunity Employer

References, continued

Gepts, P., & Hancock, J. (May 18, 2006). The Future of Plant Breeding. Crop Science, Volume 46. Retrieved

from http:// www.crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/46/4/1630.

Raymond, R.D. (ed.) (2006). Crop Wild Relatives. Retrieved from

http://www.bioversityinternational.org/publications/publications/publication/issue/crop_wild_relatives.h

tml.

Sleper, D.A. and Poehlman, J.M. (2006) Breeding Field Crops. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing.

Stalker, H., & Knauft, D.A. (2009). Plant Breeding Education. Retrieved from

http://www.cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/gpb/pr/PBCC08PprEducation.pdf.

Story of Farming. (2010). History Link 101. Retrieved from

http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/farm.../story-of-farming.htm.

When and Where Did Agriculture Start? (n.d.). Free FAQ Online. Retrieved from

http://www.sfaq.com/science/15885.html.

M. Williams, Ball Horticultural Company (personal communication, April 27, 2010).

Nations Online Project (Map of the Continents)

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/continents_map.htm.

The 4-H Name & Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707. “Foundation for the Gator Nation”- An Equal Opportunity Employer

Research Worksheet

Caution must be used when doing research on the Internet. Choose sources that are credible and

accurate. Lots of people publish things online and it is important to select sites with information that

you can trust. Web sites that end in “.gov” are maintained by a government agency and are usually

reliable. So are web sites that end in “.edu.” These sites are maintained by educational institutions.

Websites that end in “.org” are maintained by organizations (usually non-profit) and the information is

usually credible, but may be presented in a way that promotes their organization’s mission or beliefs.

Websites that end in “.com” are business or company websites and may contain a combination of both

fact and opinion. The information on these sites may not be scientific or trustworthy.

Use the following checklist to determine if a website is trustworthy:

Is the site personal or part of an organization or company? Does the site have a date? When was the information last updated? Who is responsible for

updating the information? If the site is from a company, is it a commercial or a non-profit organization? Is there anything

for sale on the web site? Do the authors of the web site provide a section of references or additional resources or links?

Crop

URL

Type (.gov, .edu,

.org, or .com?)

Date last updated

References or

additional links

Yes/No?

Center of Origin according to this

source

During your research, did you find any conflicting information (more than one possible center of origin)?

Was it difficult or easy to find a credible source of information on your crop’s center of origin?

The 4-H Name & Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707. “Foundation for the Gator Nation”- An Equal Opportunity Employer

Crop Wild Relative Cards

A B

C

D

E F

G

H I

J

K L

The 4-H Name & Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707. “Foundation for the Gator Nation”- An Equal Opportunity Employer

Key for Crop Wild Relative Cards:

A & B: Citrullus lanatus (cultivated watermelon) and Citrullus coloncynthis (watermelon wild

relative)

C & F: Glycine max (soybean wild relative) and Glycine soja (cultivated soybean)

D & E: Helianthus mallis (cultivated sunflower) and Helianthus annus (sunflower wild relative)

G & H: Solanum tuberosum (cultivated potato) and Solanum phureja (peanut wild relative);

K & L: Arachis hypogea (cultivated peanut) and Arachis spp. (peanut wild relative)

I & J: Solanum lycopersicum (cultivated tomato) and Solanum triflorum (tomato wild relative)

The 4-H Name & Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707. “Foundation for the Gator Nation”- An Equal Opportunity Employer

Crop Wild Relative Center of Origin Map

Used with permission from: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/continents_map.htm.