Abstract

In the crop improvement programmes, the intro- duction of species and varieties forms an integral part. The introduction of plants of economic value from another place where these have already been tried and exploited, is a direct and easy method in agricultural development. In fact, most of the cultivated plants of the various countries are such introductions made sometime or other. DeCandolle (1904) and Vavilov (1931) have dealt exten- sively on the origin of the cultivated plants. Rajasekhara Mudaliar (1953) has given a complete review of the plant introduction work in the different countries in the recent times in general and has stressed on the aspects of grasses and legumes in particular. Wenholz (1929) mentions that all the chief cultivated farm, fruit and vegetable crops grown in Australia had originally to be introduced from some other part of the world. McCann (1950) says that every major crop grown in the United States of America is an immigrant. In an eminently agricultural country like ours, the importance of plant exploration and introduction needs no emphasis. The former concerns with the search for wild species of economic value for bringing them under cultivation while the latter deals mainly with the introduction of plants of desirable qualities, from foreign countries with the object of improving our cultivated crops.

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