The tale of taro leaf blight: a global effort to safeguard the genetic diversity of taro in the Pacific
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ORIGINAL PAPER
The tale of taro leaf blight: a global effort to safeguard the genetic diversity of taro in the Pacific Sefra Alexandra 1 & Nelissa Jamora 2 & Melinda Smale 3
&
Michel E. Ghanem 4
Received: 8 February 2020 / Accepted: 22 April 2020 # International Society for Plant Pathology and Springer Nature B.V. 2020
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
1 Introduction: The ‘prestige’ crop ancestor Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a staple food crop that is vital to the nutrition and culture of people in many humid subtropical countries. It is classified as a prestige crop because it is the “crop of choice for royalty, gift-giving, traditional feasting, and the fulfilment of social obligations” (Onwueme 1999). Global taro production in 2017 reached 10.2 million tonnes, harvested from 1.7 million hectares (Table 1). Nigeria is the
* Nelissa Jamora [email protected] * Melinda Smale [email protected] 1
Seed Huntress, Greens Farms, CT, USA
2
Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust), Bonn, Germany
3
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
4
University Mohamed VI Polytechnics, Ben Guerir, Morocco
largest producer of taro, with a global share of 32%, followed by China, Cameroon, and Ghana. Among the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), Papua New Guinea is the top producer at 274,389 tonnes, followed by Fiji, the Sol
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