Napo Runa Identification Characteristics of Manioc Landraces:

The effectiveness of in-situ and community based landrace conservation depend upon the capacity of indigenous cultivators and other researchers to differentiate between perceptually distinct landraces. The plant characteristics depended upon for recognition however vary both within and between cultures, and yet despite their importance for agrobiodiversity conservation remain woefully understudied. This study seeks to shrink part of this knowledge gap through the investigation of the manioc (Manihot esculenta) landrace identification characteristics employed by the Napo Runa of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The nature and relative frequencies of each identification characteristics employed by the participant group will be assessed before being compared to those characteristics said to be utilized by other manioc cultivators in the literature. The findings contained herein will help underscore the variability of landrace identification characteristics and the importance of their investigation for more successful agrobiodiversity conservation initiatives.