Khoury CK, Greene SL, Moreau T, Krishnan S, Miller A (2019) “The Road Map for North American Crop Wild Relatives: Getting to our destinations” Celebrating Crop Diversity: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens, and Science, 4 April 2019, Des Moines, USA.

1. The Road Map for
North American Crop Wild Relatives:
Getting to our destinations
Celebrating Crop Diversity: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens, and Science
4 April 2019
World Food Prize Hall of Laureates
Des Moines, Iowa USA

2. A Road Map for North America’s crop wild relatives
1. Document, assess threats, and determine
conservation gaps for North America’s crop wild
relatives
2. Protect threatened species in their natural habitats
3. Collect and conserve prioritized species ex situ
4. Make their diversity accessible for use, research, and
education
5. Raise public awareness of their value and the
threats to their persistence

3. Helianthus pumilus, Wyoming. Photo: L. Marek

4. A Road Map for North America’s crop wild relatives-
Community Feedback – survey and interactive sessions
• Road map aligns fully or partly with current work of
respondents, and community is diverse on which
objectives currently working on and likely to work on
• All respondents are already working on one or more
destinations
• Community is clear about the destinations- and ready
for more detail, specificity, and structure
• Diversity is essential- in participating organizations,
individuals, methods, techniques
• Prioritize species and actions- cannot do everything
comprehensively across North America

5. Pecos sunflower (Helianthus paradoxus)
Okeechobee gourd (Cucurbita okeechobeensis subsp.
okeechobeensis)
Scrub plum (Prunus geniculata)Texas wild rice (Zizania texana)
Crop wild relatives in peril
Khoury et al. (2013) Crop Science 53(4): 1496

6. • Average priorities across respondents- all 5
destinations were >2.5 (scale of 1-5); Rank of
priorities averaged across respondents were:
• Access to diversity (4)
• In situ conservation (2)
• Outreach and education (5)
• Ex situ conservation (3)
• Document, assess threats, determine gaps (1)
• Road map can help our community:
• legitimacy of current work
• raising awareness of needs
• opportunity to work together
A Road Map for North America’s crop wild relatives-
Community Feedback – survey and interactive sessions

7. Photo: K. Williams

8. • What is missing/needs more:
• More diversity in inputs
• Use (Pre-breeding, etc.)
• Income generation for rural and other communities in need
• Climate change as priority
• Policy (e.g. expand beyond rare and threatened plants)
• Capacity building in conservation, use
• Start with case studies
• Increase funding for ex situ and other institutions
• Get data organized
• Other comments on what missing are to come in next steps:
• Organizational structure
• Funding
• Clear roles
A Road Map for North America’s crop wild relatives-
Community Feedback – survey and interactive sessions

9. Chiltepin (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum (Dunal) Heiser & Pickersgill). Photo: Gary Nabhan.

10. A Road Map for North America’s crop wild relatives
Next steps:
• Publish and widely communicate Road Map
• Translate map into strategic plan with organizational
structure, budgets, activities, timeframes
• Expand case studies of effective ways to work together

11. Thank you so much!