No one knows exactly when the first crop was cultivated, but most authorities believe that it occurred at some time between eight and ten thousand years ago. For centuries prior to that time, humans had known that some wild plants and plant parts (such as fruits, leaves, and roots) were edible. These plants appeared periodically (usually annually) and randomly throughout a given region. Eventually humans discovered that these wild plants grew from seeds and that the seeds from certain wild plants could be collected, planted, and later gathered for food. This most likely occurred at about the same time in both the Sumerian region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and in Mexico and Central America. While the earliest attempts at domesticating plants were primarily to supplement the food supply provided by hunting and gathering, people soon improved their ability to domesticate and breed plants to the point that they could depend on an annual supply of food. This food supply allowed the development of permanent settlements.
Early Crop Domestication
By six thousand years ago, agriculture was firmly established in Asia, India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Mexico, Central America, and South America.
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Modern Plant Breeding
Genetic variability is prevalent in plants and other organisms that reproduce sexually and thereby produce spontaneous mutants.
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Recombinant Technology
Until recently, the use of traditional breeding techniques between two very closely related species was the only means of transferring heritable characteristics from one to the other.
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