
Mark Shepard | Restoration Agriculture, Wild Profit, & Nature’s Intelligence
Mass Selection, Genetic Diversity and Disease Resistance
Mark Shepard explains the strategy of mass selection, which involves planting high volumes of seeds and allowing nature to select for the most resilient survivors. Using chestnuts and apples as examples, he argues against using identical genetic clones (cultivars) which are vulnerable to total crop failure. Instead, he allows pests and diseases like chestnut blight to filter the gene pool, resulting in a self-healing forest system.








