Vavilov centres. Mexico is one of the Vavilov centres (named in honour of the Russian biologist Nikolai I. Vavilov 1887-1943, who described them), in which the major food crops of the world have their origin. These centres include: Southeast Asia (coconut, rice, sugar cane), China (soybean, Chinese cabbage), India (cucumber, aubergine), Turkey-Iran (wheat, barley, oats, figs), Mediterranean (almonds, cabbage, olives), the Andes (potatoes, peppers, rubber), and Mexico and Central America (maize, tomato, beans, squash).

Some of the species which have been domesticated in Mexico are chile, maize, beans, squash, cacao, peanut, avocado, vanilla, amaranth, maguey, tomato, sweet potato, cotton, papaya, henequen, the huexolotl (turkey) and the dog xoloitzcuintle brought from Asia.