Chapter 15

Trees: Capturing Useful Traits in Elite Cultivars: An Update

R.R.B. Leakey

Abstract

By combining horticultural skills and techniques with both Traditional Knowledge and the use of modern genetics, tree domestication has emerged as a novel, farmer-driven approach to agroforestry that captures both local knowledge at the village level and the genetic traits associated with the genetically elite, sexually mature trees. Furthermore, by operating at the village level this approach is providing a decentralized, participatory approach to domestication that is starting to deliver tangible and life-transforming social and economic benefits. So, agroforestry is emerging as an integrated approach to the wise use of forest genetic resources for ...

Get Multifunctional Agriculture now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.