Crop wild relative was Nikolai Vavilov, the Russian botanist who first realized the importance of crop wild relatives in the early 20th century. Genetic material from CWRs has been utilized by humans for thousands of years to improve the quality and yield of crops. Farmers have used traditional breeding methods for millennia, wild maize ("Zea mexicana") is routinely grown alongside maize to promote natural crossing and improve yields. More recently, plant breeders have utilised CWR genes to improve a wide range of crops like rice ("Oryza sativa"), tomato ("Solanum lycopersicum") and grain legumes. CWRs have contributed many useful genes to crop plants, and
Elasmopalpus brown anterior and distal margins. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants but prefer grasses. Recorded host plants include a number of economically important plants such as "Phaseolus vulgaris", "Beta vulgaris", "Brassica oleracea" var. "capitata", "Cucumis melo", "Cyperus esculentus", "Zea mays", "Vigna unguiculata", "Phaseolus lunatus", "Avena sativa", "Pisum sativum", "Arachis hypogaea", "Capsicum annuum", "Oryza sativa", "Secale cereale", "Sorghum bicolor", "Glycine max", "Sorghum sudanense", "Saccharum officinarum", "Ipomoea batatas", "Lycopersicon esculentum", "Brassica rapa" and "Triticum aestivum". They tunnel into the crown of their host plant, severely weakening large plants and often killing young seedlings. They spin silken tubes near the