In 2009, at the ICARDA in Syria, thanks to a large germplasm bank and three international genetic improvement programs with thousands of lines in selection, the geneticist Salvatore Ceccarelli worked on the constitution, among others, of a population of soft wheat with 2000 different varieties of wheat. These populations were formed with the aim of providing farmers with materials that contain the greatest possible diversity that can change over time and adapt to very different environments. In fact, when a population is sown in the field, natural crosses always occur between the plants and the seeds that are collected are never genetically identical to those sown, therefore a population evolves thanks to natural selection, and adapts, year after year, to the environment in which it is grown, the type of soil and agronomic techniques. The evolutionary population of soft grains arrived in Italy in 2010 and thanks to the European project SOLIBAM - A small amount of seed (23 kg) was given to three farmers in as many regions. Over time the work has been followed and taken over by Semi Rural Network which has continued since 2012 thanks to various European projects, including the one currently underway and in which our company " Resilient Cereals " also participates. The project aims to deepen the knowledge and study of the behavior of the evolutionary population in different environments of Tuscany (plains, mountains, hills, coast), and its nutritional characteristics.

The Evolutionary Population field has within it the ancient roots of Mother Nature and at the same time something revolutionary. Today we often eat standardized food, the wheat fields we see are uniform and the same. But it is diversity that creates the beauty, richness and harmony of our body and soul.

And of the Earth we live on.

(from https://salvatorececcarelli.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/diffusione-ed- Evolution-di-popolazione-e-miscugli-di-cereali-in-italia-la-biodiversita-torna-nei-campi- 2 / "