Assistant Professor Sheth R. A. College of Science, Gujarat University AHMEDABAD, Gujarat, India
Body of Abstract: The population of the world is expected to be 9.6 billion by 2050 indicating a huge pressure to affect the food for all. It is worth mentioning that more than 80 percent of the food comes from plants and of 50,000 edible plants, only 12 crop plants provide 90 percent of the world food energy uptake. Presently, the agriculture and biodiversity are experiencing climate change impacts, change in pest population dynamics and sustainability issues. To meet the demand and making the crop more environmentally robust, scientists have started focusing on genes from the wild relatives of crop plants. Crop wild relatives (CWR) have a collection of many desirable genes and alleles which can be tapped to improvise the existing varieties which are resistant to biotic and abiotic stress including climate change. Though, their significance for food security has been recognized now, yet the National conservation and management efforts need to be more structured and in synchronization with global efforts.