Consequences of loss of genetic diversity:
One result of less diversity is that consumers and farmers are now accustomed to, and demand, uniformity – such as: round red apples, plants all the same height in the field.
But the loss of genetic diversity can have devastating consequences, such as the Irish potato blight of 1850, the Southern corn leaf blight of 1970, and the current crisis in banana, Black Sigatoka disease, shown above.
Banana image Copyright 2001 by The American Phytopathological Society, http://www.apsnet.org/education/feature/banana/; apple photo courtesy of New York Apple Association