Domestication of Coccinia grandis: an underutilized vegetable species in Lao PDR
1998
Engle, L.M. | Altoveros, N.C. | Geal, G.G. | Khanpone Phanmaliving | Powang Xaygnalis | Opena, R.T (Asian Vegetable Research Center, Shanhua, Tainan (Taiwan))
Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt) is either gathered, encouraged or cultivated in Lao PDR. There, it is in different stages of evolution into a domesticated crop. Information on the stages in its domestication could serve as a present day model on the domestication of a vegetable crop species and the relationship between crop and man. The ivy gourd occurs wild climbing on shrubs and trees or trailing along grasslands and roadsides. The shoots and leaves are gathered usually for the daily home cooking and occasionally to sell in the market. In some cases, its growth is encouraged by cleaning the surrounding areas of competing plants, providing additional support, or training it to trail along a preferred spot. New growth of ivy gourd is also encouraged along hedges and fences. Shoots are repeatedly harvested as needed for home consumption. Finally, ivy gourd is cultivated as a monocrop for market purposes in the village of Nonseng near Savannakhet in the southern part of Laos PDR. The original planting material came from cuttings gathered in the wild, plants were pruned and trellished, and young shoots were harvested every three days, bundled and sold in the market. After a year the crop is ratooned. Plots in new areas were established using cuttings obtained from plants from older and more established plots. From a crop that is gathered in the wild to a crop that is encouraged, the ivy gourd can evolve to a highly domesticated vegetable crop in Lao PDR. The availability of better cultivars and knowledge of the many other preparations and uses of this crop can propel its evolution from an underexploited species to an important horticultural crop in Lao agriculture.
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