Botany: A Blooming History

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Timothy Walker

Matt Barrett

Paul Overton

Graeme Thomson

Botany: A Blooming History: Episode 3: Hidden World

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Episode 3: Hidden World

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BBC Four - Botany: A Blooming History, Hidden World

How pioneer botanists opened the door to a new branch of science - plant genetics.

Timothy Walker looks at how pioneer botanists unlocked the patterns found in different types of plants and opened the door to a new branch of science - plant genetics.

For 10,000 years or more, humans created new plant varieties for food by trial and error and a touch of serendipity. Then 150 years ago, a new era began. Pioneer botanists unlocked the patterns found in different types of plants and opened the door to a new branch of science - plant genetics. They discovered what controlled the random colours of snapdragon petals and the strange colours found in wild maize.

This was vital information. Some botanists even gave their lives to protect their collection of seeds. American wheat farmer Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel peace prize after he bred a new strain of wheat that lifted millions of people around the world out of starvation. Today, botanists believe advances in plant genetics hold the key to feeding the world's growing population.

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The story of how man came to understand the natural order of the plant world.

Series which tells the story of how people came to understand the natural order of the plant world, and how the quest to discover how plants grow uncovered the secret to life on the planet.

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Episode 3: Hidden World

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