ECUADORIAN CATALOGUE of WILD SPECIES RELATED TO SWEETPOTATO, RICE, LIMA BEAN, POTATO AND EGGPLANT

Abstract

Ecuador has high biodiversity in relation to its relatively small surface area, and this is recognized worldwide. One subgroup of this biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, is particularly important, since it forms the basis of food security and sover- eignty for all Ecuadorians. To this agrobiodiversity, which can be found on small farms and cultivated plots throughout the country, can be added crop wild relatives. Crop wild relatives (CWR) are commonly defined in terms of wild species that are closely related to agricultural and horticultural crops (Maxted and Kell, 2009).