Focusing on genebanks for climate change adaptation

The Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy (FIGS) has been the subject of a fair number of posts here in the past couple of years. It has now clearly hit the big time, with a major workshop which got picked up by the BBC, no less. The latest paper to feature this strategy for more effectively mining genebank collections for the material you really want features the search for drought adaptation in faba beans.

Meanwhile, another workshop reminds us that breeding new varieties using the stuff you find in genebanks is just one way of adapting agriculture to climate change:

…there are various agricultural practices to offset the adverse effects of climate change on crop production and soil, such as mulching, that will help with water conservation and soil fertility, and crop rotation, which contributes to sustainable cultivation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *