The tale of taro leaf blight: a global effort to safeguard the genetic diversity of taro in the Pacific

Sefra Alexandra, Nelissa Jamora (), Melinda Smale () and Michel E. Ghanem
Additional contact information
Sefra Alexandra: Seed Huntress
Nelissa Jamora: Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust)
Melinda Smale: Michigan State University
Michel E. Ghanem: University Mohamed VI Polytechnics

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2020, vol. 12, issue 5, No 9, 1005-1016

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines the vital role of genebanks in the conservation and use of plant genetic resources, highlighting the South Pacific’s version of the Irish Potato Famine and the organizational interdependence necessary to respond to disastrous losses in a cultivated food crop. We conducted an ethnobotanical fieldwork in Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Cook Islands, interviewing over 50 taro experts and farmers to gather the ‘Tale of Taro Leaf Blight’. Taro is the staple ‘prestige’ food crop of Samoa but in 1993, taro leaf blight (TLB), Phytophthora colocasiae, caused an almost 100% loss of the crop, threatening both food security and traditional cultural practices. Several international organizations were formed to conduct botanical expeditions to re-gather crop wild relatives of taro, Colocasia esculenta, from their various centres of origin. This parental material was used in a 10-year breeding cycle process to produce viable TLB-resistant varieties and replant the fallow fields of Samoa. The duty to safeguard these global accessions led to the formalization of CePaCT, which houses this core collection. The collection, conservation, multiplication, and distribution of taro has had a significant impact beyond the regional needs of the Pacific. Taro germplasm samples were distributed to countries worldwide affected by the blight, aiding in staving off potential famines and economic crises. This ancient aroid is one of the most consumed vegetables in the Pacific. It is an indispensable nutritional and caloric resource for subsistence farming nations, and carries deep ethnobotanical and cultural significance.

Keywords: Taro; Taro leaf blight; Genebanks; Pacific; Samoa; Genetic resources; Ethnobotany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-020-01039-6

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