Nibbles: Genomes, Sorghum squared, Tropical forests, UG99, Vanilla, Himalayan agriculture

by Jeremy on February 23, 2010

And today’s 500 genomes are … h/t OpenHelix.
FAO uses sorghum to deliver food security in Matabeleland North.
Meanwhile … science alert: sorghum’s family tree delineated, scope for breeding from wild relatives.
Small family farms can provide lots of food and preserve tropical forest biodiversity, say researchers. Actual paper not yet available.
Wired magazine does UG99 wheat rust. Read it and weep.
And in other fungus news, Fusarium hits vanilla in Kerala.
“Ladakh’s youth … are increasingly switching from backbreaking agriculture in the harsh terrain to more profitable jobs in the booming tourism industry.” Twas ever thus.

Fresh Nibbles: February 15, 2012 : <- click to comment

Policy wonks start to worry about the next US Farm Bill and its effects on poor farmers elsewhere.
Poles start to worry about their endangered chicks.
The Youth in Agriculture gives agricultural biodiversity some love on St Valentine’s Day.
“Can jowar ever replace rice?” Question expecting the answer no? (Jowar is sorghum.)
Can anyone actually decipher what H.G. Wells wrote to FAO Director Lubin?
A Memorial Service will be held for Erna Bennett, in English, at 12.30 hrs. on Friday, 9th March at Santa Balbina Church, Viale Guido Baccelli, Rome. It’s near FAO. And no, there’s no link.
Ants help crop wild relative (among other things).

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Featured Comment:

Gregory Vaughan has news for fans of oca, and other Andean roots and tubers.

I just got back from the Parque de la Papa, and it turns out that they are indeed in the midst of a new repatriation of something like 78 accessions of virus-free oca (I think it’s just oca, with no mashua or ulluco yet) from CIP. They have transferred the vitroplants to soil bags that they are raising in a sterile greenhouse.

If anyone is interested, I’m working on a project with the UPTC in Tunja, Colombia to investigate and promote our local varieties of these tubers and other native Andean crops.

And yes Gregory, we’re interested.

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