Rye, Vavilov and Vavilovian Mimicry

Whisky education from Whisk(e)y Advent 2025 (2025-12-08). Summary below; full write-up with sources and images: calendar/2025-12-08.qmd.

Rye may have been ‘accidentally’ domesticated via Vavilovian mimicry - weeds resembling wheat survived weeding. Geneticist Nikolai Vavilov, who studied this, was persecuted under Stalin and died of starvation in prison.