Read the passage below and evaluate whether the statement that follows is True or False.
In October 1926, Russian botanist Nikolai Vavilov embarked on a five-month botanical survey across the mountainous regions of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia). Supported by the All-Union Institute of Applied Botany, Vavilov sought to identify primary centers of origin for cultivated crops. Unlike earlier collectors who prioritized yield potential, Vavilov systematically documented indigenous landraces, recording morphological traits and microclimatic conditions across varying altitudes.
During his ascent into the central highlands between 1,800 and 2,400 meters, Vavilov gathered over 2,000 distinct seed samples, primarily focusing on cereal grains such as durum wheat and teff (Eragrostis tef). He observed that local farmers preserved distinct landraces within isolated mountain valleys, preventing cross-pollination through geographic barriers rather than intentional selective breeding. Crucially, Vavilov recorded that while coffee (Coffea arabica) grew wild in the southwestern rainforests of Kaffa, cultivated varieties of teff exhibited far greater genetic diversity across the northern plateau.
In his field journals, Vavilov noted a striking anomaly regarding bread wheat (Triticum aestivum). Although bread wheat was widely grown throughout Europe and Southwest Asia, the Abyssinian samples displayed unique dominant genetic traits, specifically awnless spikes and dark purple caryopses, which were virtually absent in Mediterranean specimens. However, Vavilov emphasized that Abyssinia was a secondary, rather than primary, center of origin for bread wheat, because wild ancestral ancestors of Triticum aestivum were entirely absent from the local flora. Conversely, because wild relatives of teff were abundant alongside cultivated landraces, he designated the region as the primary center of origin for teff.
Upon completing his expedition in March 1927, Vavilov transferred the seed collection to Leningrad for cold-storage preservation and cytogenetic analysis. His findings challenged the prevailing assumption that high crop diversity was merely a product of ancient trade routes, demonstrating instead that geographic isolation and environmental heterogeneity were the primary drivers of localized genetic variation.
Statement: According to the passage, Vavilov designated Abyssinia as a secondary center of origin for bread wheat specifically because wild ancestral relatives of Triticum aestivum were completely absent from the region's local flora.
Answer: Answer