Abstract
This article presents a holistic framework for understanding the scienceof plant breeding, as an alternative to the common objectivist andconstructivist approaches in studies of science. It applies thisapproach to understanding disagreements about how to deal with yieldstability. Two contrasting definitions of yield stability are described,and concomitant differences in the understanding and roles ofsustainability and of selection, test, and target environments areexplored. Critical questions about plant breeding theory and practiceare posed, and answers from the viewpoint of the two contrastingdefinitions of yield stability are analyzed, based on key publicationsin the field. Differences in answers to these questions appear to resultboth from the contingencies of plant breeders' experiences withparticular crop varieties and growing environments, and from differencesin social and institutional settings – plant breeding science isboth objective truth and social construction. The goal of using aholistic framework is to encourage discussion among plant breeders,farmers, social scientists, and others, of the bases for disagreementswithin plant breeding, in order to facilitate plant breeding'scontribution to a more environmentally, economically, and sociallysustainable agriculture.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alcoff, L. M. (ed.) (1998). Epistemology: The Big Question. Oxford: Blackwell.
Allard, R. W. (1999). Principles of Plant Breeding, 2nd edn. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Anderson, J. R. and P. B. R. Hazell (1989a). “Introduction.” In J. R. Anderson and P. B. R. Hazell (eds.), Variability in Grain Yields: Implications for Agricultural Research and Policy in Developing Countries (pp. 1-10). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Anderson, J. R. and P. B. R. Hazell (1989b). “Synthesis and needs in agricultural research and policy.” In J. R. Anderson and P. B. R. Hazell (eds.), Variability in Grain Yields: Implications for Agricultural Research and Policy in Developing Countries (pp. 339-356). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Anderson, J. R. and P. B. R. Hazell (eds.) (1989c). Variability in Grain Yields: Implications for Agricultural Research and Policy in Developing Countries. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Aquino, P. (1998). “Mexico.” In M. L. Morris (ed.), Maize Seed Industries in Developing Countries (pp. 231-250). Boulder, Colorado/Mexico, D.F.: Lynne Rienner/CIMMYT.
Audi, R. (1998). Epistemology. London: Routledge.
Bänziger, M. and H. R. Lafitte (1997). “Breeding for Nstressed environments: How useful are N-stressed selection environments and secondary traits?” In G. O. Edmeades, M. Bänziger, H. R. Mickelson, and C. B. Peña-Valdivia (eds.), Developing Drought-and Low-N Tolerant Maize, Proceedings of a Symposium, March 25-29, 1996, CIMMYT, El Batan, Mexico (pp. 401-404). Mexico, D.F., Mexico: CIMMYT.
Bänziger, M., F. J. Betrán, and H. R. Lafitte (1997). “Efficiency of high-nitrogen selection environments for improving maize for low-nitrogen target environments.” Crop Science 37: 1103-1109.
Bänziger, M., G. O. Edmeades, and H. R. Lafitte (1999). “Selection for drought tolerance increases maize yields across a range of nitrogen levels.” Crop Science 39: 1035-1040.
Barah, B. C., H. P. Binswanger, B. S. Rana, and N. G. P. Rao (1981). “The use of risk aversion in plant breeding: Concept and application.” Euphytica 30: 451-458.
Bernard, H. R. (1998). “Introduction: On method and methods in anthropology.” In H. R. Bernard (ed.), Handbook of Methods in Cultural Anthropology (pp. 9-36). Walnut Creek: Altamira Press.
Bolaños, J. and G. O. Edmeades (1996). “The importance of anthesis-silking interval in breeding for drought tolerance in tropical maize.” Field Crops Research 48: 65-80.
Borlaug, N. E. (1999). “How to feed the 21st century?” In J. G. Coors and S. Pandey (eds.), The Genetics and Exploitation of Heterosis in Crops (pp. 509-519). Madison, Wisconsin: ASA-CSSA-SSSA.
Borlaug, N. E. (n.d.). The Green Revolution: Peace and Humanity. Norman E. Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. Mexico City: CIMMYT.
Bourdieu, P. (2000). Pascalian Meditations. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. (First published as Méditations pascaliennes, Éditions de Seuil, 1997.)
Bramel-Cox, P. J. (1996). “Breeding for reliability of performance across unpredictable environments.” In M. S. Kang and H. G. Gauch Jr. (eds.), Genotype-by-Environment Interaction (pp. 309-339). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Braun, H.-J., S. Rajaram, and M. van Ginkel (1997). “CIMMYT's approach to breeding for wide adaptation.” In P. M. A. Tigerstedt (ed.), Adaptation and Plant Breeding (pp. 197-205). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Busch, L., W. B. Lacy, J. Burkhardt, D. Hemken, J. Moraga-Rojel, T. Koponen, and J. de Souza Silva (1995). Making Nature, Shaping Culture: Plant Biodiversity in Global Context. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
Bushamuka, V. N. and R. W. Zobel (1998). “Differential genotypic and root type penetration of compacted soil layers.” Crop Science 38: 776-781.
Byerlee, D. (1994). “Issues and options for social scientists in global germplasm improvement.” In M. P. Collinson and K. W. Platais (eds.), Social Science in the CGIAR. Proceedings of a Meeting of CGIAR Social Scientists Held at the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), The Hague, The Netherlands, August, 1992. CGIAR Study Paper, Number 28 (pp. 7-9). Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Byerlee, D. (1996). “Modern varieties, productivity and sustainability: Recent experience and emerging challenges.” World Development 24: 697-718.
Byrne, P. F., J. Bolaños, G. O. Edmeades, and D. L. Eaton (1995). “Gains from selection under drought versus multilocation testing in relation to tropical maize populations.” Crop Science 35: 63-69.
Calderini, D. F. and G. A. Slafer (1999). “Has yield stability changed with genetic improvement of wheat yield?” Euphytica 107: 51-59.
Callaway, M. B. and C. A. Francis (eds.) (1993). Crop Improvement for Sustainable Agriculture. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
Ceballos, H., S. Pandey, L. Narro, and J. C. Perez-Velásquez (1998). “Additive, dominant, and epistatic effects for maize grain yield in acid and non-acid soils.” Theoretical and Applied Genetics 96: 662-668.
Ceccarelli, S. (1996a). “Adaptation to low/high input cultivation.” Euphytica 92: 203-214.
Ceccarelli, S. (1996b). “Positive interpretation of genotype by environment interactions in relation to sustainability and biodiversity.” In M. Cooper and G. L. Hammer (eds.), Plant Adaptation and Crop Improvement (pp. 467-486). Wallingford, Oxford, UK: CAB International in association with IRRI and ICRISAT.
Ceccarelli, S., W. Erskine, J. Hamblin, and S. Grando (1994). “Genotype by environment interaction and international breeding programmes.” Experimental Agriculture 30: 177-187.
Ceccarelli, S., S. Grando, and A. Impiglia (1998). “Choice of selection strategy in breeding barley for stress environments.” Euphytica 103: 307-318.
Chapman, S. C., J. Crossa, and G. O. Edmeades (1997). “Genotype by environment effects and selection for drought tolerance in tropical maize. I. Two mode pattern analysis of yield.” Euphytica 95: 1-9.
Cleveland, D. A. (1998). “Balancing on a planet: toward an agricultural anthropology for the 21st century.” Human Ecology 26: 323-340.
Cleveland, D. A. and S. C. Murray (1997). “The world's crop genetic resources and the rights of indigenous farmers.” Current Anthropology 38: 477-515.
Cleveland, D. A., D. Soleri, and S. E. Smith (2000). “A biological framework for understanding farmers' plant breeding.” Economic Botany 54(3): 377-394.
Cooper, M. and D. E. Byth (1996). “Understanding plant adaptation to achieve systematic applied crop improvement-a fundamental challenge.” In M. Cooper and G. L. Hammer (eds.), Plant Adaptation and Crop Improvement (pp. 5-23). Wallingford, Oxford, UK: CAB International in association with IRRI and ICRISAT.
Cooper, M. and G. L. Hammer (eds.) (1996a). Plant Adaptation and Crop Improvement. Wallingford, Oxford, UK: CAB International in association with IRRI and ICRISAT.
Cooper, M. and G. L. Hammer (1996b). “Preface.” In M. Cooper and G. L. Hammer (eds.), Plant Adaptation and Crop Improvement (pp. xiii-xv). Wallingford, Oxford, UK: CAB International in association with IRRI and ICRISAT.
Cooper, M. and G. L. Hammer (1996c). “Synthesis of strategies for crop improvement.” in M. Cooper and G. L. Hammer (eds.), Plant adaptation and crop improvement (pp. 591-623). Wallingford, Oxford, UK: CAB International in association with IRRI and ICRISAT.
Cooper, M., P. S. Brennan, and J. A. Sheppard (1996). “A strategy for yield improvement of wheat which accommodates large genotype by environment interactions.” In M. Cooper and G. L. Hammer (eds.), Plant Adaptation and Crop Improvement (pp. 487-511). Wallingford, Oxford, UK: CAB International in association with IRRI and ICRISAT.
Cooper, M., R. E. Stucker, I. H. DeLacy, and B. D. Harch (1997). “Wheat breeding nurseries, target environments, and indirect selection for grain yield.” Crop Science 37: 1168-1176.
Coors, J. G. (1999). “Selection methodology and heterosis.” In J. G. Coors and S. Pandey (eds.), The Genetics and Exploitation of Heterosis in Crops (pp. 225-245). Madison, Wisconsin: ASA-CSSA-SSSA.
Cromwell, E., S. Wiggins, and S. Wentzel (1993). Sowing Beyond the State. London, UK: Overseas Development Institute.
Crossa, J., M. Vargas, F. A. van Eeewijk, C. Jiang, G. O. Edmeades, and D. Hoisington (1999). “Interpreting genotype × environment interaction in tropical maize using linked molecular markers and environmental covariables.” Theoretical and Applied Genetics 99: 611-625.
Duvick, D. N. (1992). “Genetic contributions to advances in yield of U.S. maize.” Maydica 37: 69-79.
Duvick, D. N. (1996). “Plant breeding, an evolutionary concept.” Crop Science 36: 539-548.
Eberhart, S. A. and W. A. Russell (1966). “Stability parameters for comparing varieties.” Crop Science 6: 36-40.
Edmeades, G. O., J. Bolaños, S. C. Chapman, H. R. Lafitte, and M. Bänziger (1999). “Selection improves drought tolerance in tropical maize populations: I. Gains in biomass, grain yield, and harvest index.” Crop Science 39: 1306-1315.
Ellen, R. (1996). “The cognitive geometry of nature: a contextual approach.” In P. Descola and G. Palsson (eds.), Nature and Society: Anthropological Perspectives (pp. 103-124). New York: Routledge.
Ellis, F. (1993). Peasant Economics: Farm Households and Agrarian Development, 2nd edn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Evans, L. T. (1993). Crop Evolution, Adaptation and Yield. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Evans, L. T. (1997). “Adapting and improving crops: the endless task.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences 352: 901-906.
Evans, L. T. (1998). Feeding the Ten Billion: Plants and Population Growth. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Federer, W. T. and B. T. Scully (1993). “A parsimonious statistical design and breeding procedure for evaluating and selecting desirable characteristics over environments.” Theoretical and Applied Genetics 86: 612-620.
Finlay, K. W. and G. N. Wilkinson (1963). “The analysis of adaptation in a plant-breeding programme.” Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 14: 742-754.
Fischer, K. S. (1996). “Research approaches for variable rainfed systems-thinking globally, acting locally.” In M. Cooper and G. L. Hammer (eds.), Plant Adaptation and Crop Improvement (pp. 25-35). Wallingford, Oxford, UK: CAB International in association with IRRI and ICRISAT.
Foucault, M. (1994). The Order of Things. Reprint of 1971 English edn. New York, New York: Vintage Books. (Originally published in French in 1966 as Les Mots et les choses.)
Francis, C. A. and M. B. Callaway (1993). “Crop improvement for future farming systems.” In M. B. Callaway and C. A. Francis (eds.), Crop Improvement for Sustainable Agriculture (pp. 1-18). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
Frankel, O. H., A. H. D. Brown, and J. J. Burdon (1995). The Conservation of Plant Biodiversity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Frey, K. J. (1996). National Plant Breeding Study-1: Human and Financial Resources Devoted to Plant Breeding Research and Development in the United States in 1994. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University, Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station.
Goodland, R. (1995). “The concept of environmental sustainability.” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 26: 1-24.
Goodman, M. M. (1993). “Choosing germplasm for breeding program success.” In M. B. Callaway and C. A. Francis (eds.), Crop Improvement for Sustainable Agriculture (pp. 33-45). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
Gould, S. J. (2000). “Deconstructing the 'science wars' by reconstructing an old mold.” Science 287: 253-261.
Hallauer, A. R. and J. B. Miranda (1988). Quantitative Genetics in Maize Breeding, 2nd edn. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University.
Harding, S. (1998). Is Science Multicultural? Postcolonialisms, Feminisms, and Epistemologies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Harlan, J. R. (1992). Crops and Man, 2nd edn. Madison, Wisconsin: American Society of Agronomy, Inc. and Crop Science Society of America, Inc.
Hazell, P. B. R. (1989). “Changing patterns of variability in world cereal production.” In J. R. Anderson and P. B. R. Hazell (eds.), Variability in Grain Yields: Implications for Agricultural Research and Policy in Developing Countries (pp. 13-34). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Heisey, P. W. and G. O. Edmeades (1999). “Part 1. Maize production in drought-stressed environments: Technical options and research resource allocation.” In CIMMYT (ed.), World Maize Facts and Trends 1997/1998 (pp. 1-36). Mexico, D.F.: CIMMYT.
Heisey, P. W., M. L. Morris, D. Byerlee, and M. A. López-Pereira (1998). “Economics of hybrid maize adoption.” In M. L. Morris (ed.), Maize Seed Industries in Developing Countries (pp. 143-158). Boulder, Colorado/Mexico, D.F.: Lynne Rienner/CIMMYT.
Hildebrand, P. E. (1990). “Modified stability analysis and on-farm research to breed specific adaptability for ecological diversity.” In M. S. Kang (ed.), Genotype-by-Environment Interaction and Plant Breeding (pp. 169-180). Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Department of Agronomy, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center.
Hill, J. (1975). “Genotype-environment interactions-a challenge for plant breeding.” Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 85: 477-493.
Hill, J., H. C. Becker, and P. M. A. Tigerstedt (1998). Quantitative and Ecological Aspects of Plant Breeding. London: Chapman & Hall.
Hull, D. L. (1988). Science As a Process: An Evolutionary Account of the Social and Conceptual Development of Science. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Jennings, B. H. (1988). Foundations of International Agricultural Research. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
Jensen, N. F. (1988). Plant Breeding Methodology. New York, New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Kang, M. S. and H. G. Gauch Jr. (eds.) (1996). Genotype-by-Environment Interaction. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Kang, M. S. and R. Magari (1996). “New developments in selecting for phenotypic stability in crop breeding.” In M. S. Kang and H. G. Gauch Jr. (eds.), Genotype by Environment Interaction (pp. 1-14). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Kelley, T. G., P. P. Rao, E. Weltzien, and M. L. Purohit (1996). “Adoption of improved cultivars of pearl millet in an arid environment: Straw yield and quality considerations in Western Rajasthan.” Experimental Agriculture 32: 161-171.
Kloppenburg, J. (1988). First the Seed: The Political Economy of Plant Biotechnology, 1492-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lin, C. S., M. R. Binns, and L. P. Lefkovitch (1986). “Stability analysis: Where do we stand?” Crop Science 26: 894-900.
Lipton, M. and R. Longhurst (1989). New Seeds and Poor People. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lynam, J. K. and R. W. Herdt (1992). “Sense and sustainability: Sustainability as an objective in international agricultural research.” In J. L. Moock and R. E. Rhoades (eds.), Diversity, Farmer Knowledge, and Sustainability (pp. 205-224). Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
Mann, C. (1999). “Crop scientists seek a new revolution.” Science 283: 310-314.
Matson, P. A., W. J. Parton, A. G. Power, and M. J. Swift (1997). “Agricultural intensification and ecosystem properties.” Science 277: 504-509.
Nader, L. (1996). “Anthropological inquiry into boundaries, power, and knowledge.” In L. Nader (ed.), Naked Science: Anthropological Inquiry into Boudaries, Power and Knowledge (pp. 1-25). New York: Routledge.
Naylor, R., W. Falcon, and E. Zavaleta (1997). “Variability and growth in grain yields, 1950-1994: Does the record point to greater instability?” Population and Development Review 23: 41-58.
Pandey, S., S. K. Vasal, and J. A. Deutsch (1991). “Performance of open-pollinated maize cultivars selected from 10 tropical maize populations.” Crop Science 31: 285-290.
Perkins, J. H. (1997). Geopolitics and the Green Revolution: Wheat, Genes and the Cold War. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Pham, H. N., S. R. Waddington, and J. Crossa (1989). “Yield stability of CIMMYT maize germplasm in international and on-farm trials.” In J. R. Anderson and P. B. R. Hazell (eds.), Variability in Grain Yields: Implications for Agricultural Research and Policy in Developing Countries (pp. 185-205). Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Pingali, P. and S. Rajaram (1999). “Global wheat research in a changing world: Options for sustaining growth in wheat productivity.” In P. L. Pingali (ed.), Global Wheat Research in a Changing World: Challenges and Achievements. CIMMYT 1998-1999 World Wheat Facts and Trends (pp. 1-18). Mexico, D.F.: CIMMYT.
Podlich, D. W., M. Cooper, and K. E. Basford (1999). “Computer simulation of a selection strategy to accommodate genotype-environment interactions in a wheat recurrent selection programme.” Plant Breeding 118: 17-28.
Poehlman, J. M. and D. A. Sleper (1995). Breeding Field Crops, 4th edn. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press.
Rabinow, P. (1996). Essays On the Anthropology of Reason. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, pp. xvii, 190.
Rajaram, S., H.-J. Braun, and M. van Ginkel (1997). “CIMMYT's approach to breed for drought tolerance.” In P. M. A. Tigerstedt (ed.), Adaptation and Plant Breeding (pp. 161-167). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Romagosa, I. and P. N. Fox (1993). “Genotype x environment interaction and adaptation.” In M. D. Hayward, N. O. Bosemark, and I. Romagosa (eds.), Plant Breeding: Principles and Prospects, 1st edn. Plant Breeding Series (pp. 373-390). London: Chapman & Hall.
Rosielle, A. A. and J. Hamblin (1981). “Theoretical aspects of selection for yield in stress and non-stress environments.” Crop Science 21: 943-946.
Schweizer, T. (1998). “Epistemology: The nature and validation of anthropological knowledge.” In H. R. Bernard (ed.), Handbook of Methods in Cultural Anthropology (pp. 39-87). Walnut Creek: Altamira Press.
Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Simmonds, N. W. (1979). Principles of Crop Improvement. London, UK: Longman Group Ltd.
Simmonds, N. W. (1988). “Synthesis: The strategy of rust resistance breeding.” In CIMMYT (ed.), Breeding Strategies for Resistance to the Rusts of Wheat (pp. 119-136). Mexico, D.F.: CIMMYT.
Simmonds, N. W. (1990). “The social context of plant breeding.” Plant Breeding Abstracts 60(4): 337-341; 60: 337-341.
Simmonds, N. W. (1991). “Selection for local adaptation in a plant breeding programme.” Theoretical and Applied Genetics 82: 363-367.
Singh, A. J. and D. Byerlee (1990). “Relative variability in wheat yields across countries and over time.” Journal of Agricultural Economics 41: 21-32.
Singh, M., S. Ceccarelli, and S. Grando. (1999). “Genotype × environment interaction of the crossover type: Detecting its presence and estimating the crossover point.” Theoretical and Applied Genetics 99: 988-995.
Sleper, D. A., T. C. Barker, and P. J. Bramel-Cox (eds.) (1991). Plant Breeding and Sustainable Agriculture: Considerations for Objectives and Methods. Madison, Wisconsin: Crop Science Society of America, Inc., American Society of Agronomy, Inc.
Smale, M., P. Heisey, and H. D. Leathers. (1995). “Maize of the ancestors and modern varieties: The microeconomics of high-yielding variety adoption in Malawi.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 43: 351-368.
Soleri, D. and D. A. Cleveland (2001). “Farmers' genetic perceptions regarding their crop populations: An example with maize in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico.” Economic Botany 55(1): 106-128.
Souza, E., J. R. Myers, and B. T. Scully (1993). “Genotype by environment interaction in crop improvement.” In M. B. Callaway and C. A. Francis (eds.), Crop Improvement for Sustainable Agriculture (pp. 192-233). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
Stakman, E. C., R. Bradfield, and P. C. Mangelsdorf (1967). Campaigns Against Hunger. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Stoskopf, N. C., D. T. Tomes, and B. R. Christie (1993). Plant Breeding Theory and Practice. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
Streeter, C. P. (1969). A Partnership to Improve Food Production in India: A Report from the Rockefeller Foundation. New York, New York: The Rockefeller Foundation.
Thompson, P. B. (1995). The Spirit of the Soil: Agriculture and Environmental Ethics. London/New York: Routledge.
Tripp, R. (1995). Seed Regulatory Frameworks and Resource-Poor Farmers: A Literature Review, Network Paper 51. London: Agricultural Administration (Research and Extension) Network, Overseas Development Institute.
Tripp, R. (1996). “Biodiversity and modern crop varieties: Sharpening the debate.” Agriculture and Human Values 13: 48-63.
van Oosterom, E. J., M. L. Whitaker, and E. R. Weltzien (1996). “Integrating genotype by environment interaction analysis, characterization of drought patterns, and farmer preferences to identify adaptive plant traits for pearl millet.” In M. Cooper and G. L. Hammer (eds.), Plant Adaptation and Crop Improvement (pp. 383-402). Wallingford, Oxford, UK: CAB International in association with IRRI and ICRISAT.
Vargas, M., J. Crossa, F. A. van Eeuwijk, M. E. Ramírez, and K. Syre (1999). “Using partial least squares regression, factoral regression, and AMMI models for interpreting genotype × environment interaction.” Crop Science 39: 955-967.
Vitousek, P. M., H. A. Mooney, J. Lubchenco, and J. M. Melillo (1997). “Human domination of Earth's ecosystems.” Science 277: 494-499.
Walker, T. S. and N. S. Jodha (1986). “How small farm households adapt to risk.” In P. B. R. Hazell, C. Pomareda, and A. Valdés (eds.), Crop Insurance for Agricultural Development: Issues and Experiences (pp. 17-34). Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Wallace, D. H. and W. Yan (1998). Plant Breeding and Whole-System Crop Physiology: Improving Crop Maturity, Adaptation and Yield. Wallingford, Oxon, UK: CAB International.
Wilson, E. O. (1998). Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. New York: Knopf.
Yan, W. and L. A. Hunt (1998). “Genotype by environment interaction and crop yield.” Plant Breeding Reviews 16: 135-178.
Zeven, A. C. (1998). “Landraces: A review of definitions and classifications.” Euphytica 104: 127-139.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cleveland, D.A. Is plant breeding science objective truth or social construction? The case of yield stability. Agriculture and Human Values 18, 251–270 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011923222493
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011923222493