SYSTEMATICS OF CULTIVATED PLANTS AS A BASIS FOR PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES CONSERVATION, STUDYING AND UTILISATION

Crop systematics is very important for understanding the complex systems of cultivated plants and their relatives. The theoretical basis for this in Russia was developed by Vavilov. It is based on understanding a species as a system of geographic and ecological types and subdominant intraspecific taxa. Accuracy in classification and nomenclature is necessary for proper germplasm conservation efforts, especially in genebanks. Some examples from crops in the genera Melilotus, Aegilops and Allium are given.