I would like to explain why this project, while interesting, is not truly necessary.
There is no plant that is ideally adapted to all environments, if that was possible in the first place it would have emerged already.
So cross-breeding species that are well adapted to one place with those from another will only produce something that isn't as good as the natives in either.
Secondly, the more carrot like the roots become, the less energy the plant will have to focus on itself. It will also become more prone to pests and disease. They will also sap more resources from the soil, as potatoes do, leading to quality disintegration and excessive competition.
Ultimately it is the same effect that can be seen in farmed cows and pigs. They become useless and difficult to keep alive.
To be sustainable in evolutionary terms, the plant needs to be left alone to develop its defence mechanisms. That will make it harder for people to harvest, but it's not actually that difficult really. It's just that modern people are ridiculously lazy, obsessed with profit and seek unsustainable levels of efficiency that border on the absurd.
The giant fields that currently supply most of the world's agricultural needs are plagued by continuous battle against pests and diseases that can only be held back by non-stop innovations in pesticides and germicides. While the massive resource requirements can only be met with copious amounts of fertiliser. Ordinarily, animals living in the area would provide their fecal matter alongside rotting leaves from trees, bacteria living in the soil, and umderground rivers. But people decided to remove all of that and then import it on massive trucks because they are morons.
In africa, huge swarms of locusts are habitually destroyed by chemicals that have to be swapped out as they become resistant. Elsewhere we have aphid epidemics and corn worm infestations. Cross-resistance is starting to develop in most species and new methods such as genetic extinction have been suggested.
It is only a matter of time really before industrial scale farming becomes completely infeasible. It was always an idiotic idea to grow thousands of identical plants in a grid with no regard for natural predators, disease evolution or soil composition.
So what I think makes more sense is breeding plants that are well adapted to each locality along with insects, animals and birds that can balance the ecosystem without completely destroying the crop. There will be losses, but they can be considered a kind of nature tax.
There are definitely plants that are particularly suited to many climates, such as dandelion though these are rare. I know nature does a great job in speciation, but sometimes humanity can nudge things along in unexpected directions. Extreme examples include embryo rescue to ensure the survival of non-viable hybrid crosses, but also Burbank who crossed Blackberry with Apple.
From my observation and reading, the crossing of two plants that are adapted to different areas can definitely lead to hybrid vigour that exceeds either parent plant. It's not always a sure thing, as I said with the Taxus sp. cross, but definitely can happen as in the Leylandii. It is my hope that the hybrid vigour of crossing Silverweed with another species can then help to overcome the weaknesses of increasing the tap root size - something you have correctly pointed out will lead to increased pest pressure.
I definitely don't envision just whole monocultures of Silverweed, that way will always lead to madness. I envision domesticated Silverweed as part of a regenerative and sustainable food forest, exploiting niches within that space.
I believe there is space in the plant and food world for land racing existing plants and also new hybrids.
By the way, your type of thoughtful comment are what I have been crazing since I've started this substack, so thank you! Looking forward to chat about this stuff.
I see, I was under the impression that plant evolutions had hit a plateau and there was very little room for improvement. Especially considering how long they have been around. I have read about heterosis where "superior" traits can be achieved such as faster growth, drought resistance or more seeds. But I would have thought that growing faster, for instance, would involve a trade off with longevity, structural integrity and disease resilience. Looking at leylandii it seems they don't live long and are more susceptible to wind damage and pests.
But I am probably wrong as I'm not an expert in the field and have limited practical experience.
I'm glad that your goal isn't the monocrop!
I've seen many people try to develop perfect organisms so I apologise for making that assumption.
And I'm glad that you enjoyed my comment, I also joined substack with the hope of finding interesting conversations.
I am not an expert in this - I've just read around this topic quite a lot.
Given a stable environment where everything remains the same, it is likely true that evolution of the organisms will reach a plateau. But we do not live in such a system - in fact, our system is very much out of equilibrium and getting much more so. In these types of environments rapid evolution (and extinction) is the theme of the times.
Whilst Leylandii are prone to certain problems because they grow so fast, from these hybrids begins speciation. Leylandii are generally sterile, but all it takes is one fertile tree to produce some viable off spring and thus a species will begin to stabilise.
Back to trait balance of plants, I'm not sure we can treat all genii equally. Some are likely to have a deeper plasticity with respect to environment adaptation. And this is one of the reasons why some genii become extinct. Some plants can have it all, with greater longevity, structural integrity and disease resilience as evolution is about the survival of the most adaptable, after all.
Hi, I'm glad the silverweed plants made it to you OK. I think I can send you some Potentilla erecta too. This is also a wild flower here and I have plenty on my tree field (https://skyeent.wordpress.com/2019/06/23/in-praise-of-small-flowers/). It doesn't sound that palatable though - pfaf says it's full of tannic acid, so you may have to do a bit of back crossing. It does seem to form a woody mass of roots which are pretty thick. I think I've still got your address somewhere so I'll see what I can do (tomorrow's supposed to be drier).
Yes please, I can't find your email just now so if you can send your snail mail to nancy at p6resthome dot co dot uk that would be fine - I'll see what I can do.
I would like to explain why this project, while interesting, is not truly necessary.
There is no plant that is ideally adapted to all environments, if that was possible in the first place it would have emerged already.
So cross-breeding species that are well adapted to one place with those from another will only produce something that isn't as good as the natives in either.
Secondly, the more carrot like the roots become, the less energy the plant will have to focus on itself. It will also become more prone to pests and disease. They will also sap more resources from the soil, as potatoes do, leading to quality disintegration and excessive competition.
Ultimately it is the same effect that can be seen in farmed cows and pigs. They become useless and difficult to keep alive.
To be sustainable in evolutionary terms, the plant needs to be left alone to develop its defence mechanisms. That will make it harder for people to harvest, but it's not actually that difficult really. It's just that modern people are ridiculously lazy, obsessed with profit and seek unsustainable levels of efficiency that border on the absurd.
The giant fields that currently supply most of the world's agricultural needs are plagued by continuous battle against pests and diseases that can only be held back by non-stop innovations in pesticides and germicides. While the massive resource requirements can only be met with copious amounts of fertiliser. Ordinarily, animals living in the area would provide their fecal matter alongside rotting leaves from trees, bacteria living in the soil, and umderground rivers. But people decided to remove all of that and then import it on massive trucks because they are morons.
In africa, huge swarms of locusts are habitually destroyed by chemicals that have to be swapped out as they become resistant. Elsewhere we have aphid epidemics and corn worm infestations. Cross-resistance is starting to develop in most species and new methods such as genetic extinction have been suggested.
It is only a matter of time really before industrial scale farming becomes completely infeasible. It was always an idiotic idea to grow thousands of identical plants in a grid with no regard for natural predators, disease evolution or soil composition.
So what I think makes more sense is breeding plants that are well adapted to each locality along with insects, animals and birds that can balance the ecosystem without completely destroying the crop. There will be losses, but they can be considered a kind of nature tax.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments.
There are definitely plants that are particularly suited to many climates, such as dandelion though these are rare. I know nature does a great job in speciation, but sometimes humanity can nudge things along in unexpected directions. Extreme examples include embryo rescue to ensure the survival of non-viable hybrid crosses, but also Burbank who crossed Blackberry with Apple.
From my observation and reading, the crossing of two plants that are adapted to different areas can definitely lead to hybrid vigour that exceeds either parent plant. It's not always a sure thing, as I said with the Taxus sp. cross, but definitely can happen as in the Leylandii. It is my hope that the hybrid vigour of crossing Silverweed with another species can then help to overcome the weaknesses of increasing the tap root size - something you have correctly pointed out will lead to increased pest pressure.
I definitely don't envision just whole monocultures of Silverweed, that way will always lead to madness. I envision domesticated Silverweed as part of a regenerative and sustainable food forest, exploiting niches within that space.
I believe there is space in the plant and food world for land racing existing plants and also new hybrids.
By the way, your type of thoughtful comment are what I have been crazing since I've started this substack, so thank you! Looking forward to chat about this stuff.
I see, I was under the impression that plant evolutions had hit a plateau and there was very little room for improvement. Especially considering how long they have been around. I have read about heterosis where "superior" traits can be achieved such as faster growth, drought resistance or more seeds. But I would have thought that growing faster, for instance, would involve a trade off with longevity, structural integrity and disease resilience. Looking at leylandii it seems they don't live long and are more susceptible to wind damage and pests.
But I am probably wrong as I'm not an expert in the field and have limited practical experience.
I'm glad that your goal isn't the monocrop!
I've seen many people try to develop perfect organisms so I apologise for making that assumption.
And I'm glad that you enjoyed my comment, I also joined substack with the hope of finding interesting conversations.
I am not an expert in this - I've just read around this topic quite a lot.
Given a stable environment where everything remains the same, it is likely true that evolution of the organisms will reach a plateau. But we do not live in such a system - in fact, our system is very much out of equilibrium and getting much more so. In these types of environments rapid evolution (and extinction) is the theme of the times.
Whilst Leylandii are prone to certain problems because they grow so fast, from these hybrids begins speciation. Leylandii are generally sterile, but all it takes is one fertile tree to produce some viable off spring and thus a species will begin to stabilise.
Back to trait balance of plants, I'm not sure we can treat all genii equally. Some are likely to have a deeper plasticity with respect to environment adaptation. And this is one of the reasons why some genii become extinct. Some plants can have it all, with greater longevity, structural integrity and disease resilience as evolution is about the survival of the most adaptable, after all.
Hi, I'm glad the silverweed plants made it to you OK. I think I can send you some Potentilla erecta too. This is also a wild flower here and I have plenty on my tree field (https://skyeent.wordpress.com/2019/06/23/in-praise-of-small-flowers/). It doesn't sound that palatable though - pfaf says it's full of tannic acid, so you may have to do a bit of back crossing. It does seem to form a woody mass of roots which are pretty thick. I think I've still got your address somewhere so I'll see what I can do (tomorrow's supposed to be drier).
Hello Nancy!
I tried to email you after I received your sample but I think it got lost somehow.
Your sample is the most vigorous and I think the first to emerge this year.
Re: potentilla erecta, I would love to have a sample from your climate, it is very kind of you.
Let me know if you need my address, I can send it to you again if necessary.
Yes please, I can't find your email just now so if you can send your snail mail to nancy at p6resthome dot co dot uk that would be fine - I'll see what I can do.