Nikolai Vavilov in the context of Centre of diversity

A Vavilov centre or centre of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posited that the center of origin for a species or genus is the same as its center of diversity, the geographic area where it has the highest genetic diversity, but this equivalence has been disputed by later scholars.

In plant biology and agriculture, Vavilovian mimicry (also crop mimicry or weed mimicry) is a form of mimicry in plants where a weed evolves to share characteristics with a crop plant through generations of involuntary artificial selection. It is named after the Russian plant geneticist Nikolai Vavilov.

Selection against the weed may occur by killing a young or adult weed, by separating its seeds from those of the crop by winnowing, or both. The process has operated since Neolithic times, creating secondary crops such as rye and oats through mimicry of cereals such as wheat.

Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov (Russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Вави́лов [sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ vɐˈvʲiləf]; 24 March [O.S. 12 March] 1891 – January 25, 1951) was a Soviet physicist, the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union from July 1945 until his death. His elder brother Nikolai Vavilov was a famous Russian geneticist.