Origin of Cultivated Plants

There are many studies on Origin of cultivated plants, one of earliest being Origin of Cultivated Plants by Alphonse de Candolle, a Swiss botanist. Later N.I Viplov recognized eight centers of diversity of cultivated plants, with some originating in more than one center. Jack R Harlan later studied and concluded that some crops do not have center of origin and associated crop origin with regions. Six major regions of crop origin identified are as below.

1. 1.      Near-Eastern Region: Barley, wheat, garden pea, lentil, chickpea etc.
2. 2.      Chinese Region: Bamboo, Peach, Litchi, walnut, persimmon, ginger, gourds etc.
3. 3.      African Continent: Yam, Sorghum, okra, coffee, cotton etc.
4. 4.      South Asia and island: Eggplant, Mango, Banana, citrus, cardamom etc.
5. 5.      North America: Sunflower, Cranberry, Blueberry and Tobacco etc.
6. 6.      South and Central America:  Corn, peanut, white potato, cashew, pineapple, papaya etc.