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

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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.

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Notes

  1. Sefra Alexandra interviewed Vincent Lebot while on expedition in Vanuatu in 2018.

  2. With the exception of a few scientists who have been continuously working on taro genetics and breeding systems since the 1970s: Jill Wilson, Ramon de la Peña, Vincent Lebot, Eduardo Trujillo, John Cho, Susan Miyasaka, and Xiaoling.

  3. A core collection is defined as the maximum amount of genetic diversity within the smallest number of samples.

  4. A brief video of Tolo explaining his breeding cycles while at the PS4L Validation Workshop in Nadi, Fiji. Nov. 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRhQ2qcMKcY&feature=youtu.be

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Seed Huntress, Greens Farms, CT, USA

    Sefra Alexandra

  2. Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust), Bonn, Germany

    Nelissa Jamora

  3. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Melinda Smale

  4. University Mohamed VI Polytechnics, Ben Guerir, Morocco

    Michel E. Ghanem

Authors
  1. Sefra Alexandra
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  2. Nelissa Jamora
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  3. Melinda Smale
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  4. Michel E. Ghanem
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Nelissa Jamora or Melinda Smale.

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Conflict of interest

The fourth author was the genebank manager of SPC CePaCT at the time this research was conducted.

The second author is an agricultural economist at the Crop Trust. The first and third authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Alexandra, S., Jamora, N., Smale, M. et al. The tale of taro leaf blight: a global effort to safeguard the genetic diversity of taro in the Pacific. Food Sec. 12, 1005–1016 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-020-01039-6

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