Cropping synonymy: varietal standardization in the United States, 1900-1970.
Hist Philos Life Sci
; 45(3): 33, 2023 Jul 12.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37436519
ABSTRACT
This article examines crop varietal standardization in the United States. Numerous committees formed in the early twentieth century to address the problem of nomenclatural rules in the horticultural and agricultural industries. Making shared reference to a varietal name proved a difficult proposition for seed-borne crops because plant conformity tended to change in the hands of different breeders. Moreover, scientific and commercial opinions diverged on the value of deviations within crop varieties. I review the function of descriptive difference in the seed trade and in the framework of evolutionary theory before examining the institutional history of varietal standardization. Pimento peppers are used to represent how vegetables were treated differently than cereals. Lack of stability within a popular pimento variety caused problems for food packers in middle Georgia, which public breeders addressed by releasing new peppers. To conclude, the article questions the role of taxonomy in intellectual property, as breeding history and yield became defining attributes for making varietal distinctions.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Produtos Agrícolas
/
Agricultura
País como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article