Brainfood

September 15, 2025September 15, 2025

Brainfood: Genebank metrics, Genebank reviews, Botanic gardens ABS, Genebank practical guides, Germplasm User Groups

A Proposal for Genebank Metrics to Enhance Collection Management. A framework of 10 mandatory and 38 optional metrics for orthodox-seed genebank collections (covering size, documentation, conservation, availability, distribution etc.) to improve performance, transparency and collaboration in genebank management.
Genebank Peer Reviews: A powerful tool to improve genebank quality and promote collaboration. Starting in 2019, a peer-review system among European genebanks involving self-assessments, site visits and expert evaluation has helped improve practices, strengthen capacity, and foster knowledge exchange, though it requires sustained resources and a pool of experts. I suspect they’re using at least some of the above metrics.
Could botanic gardens use the Plant Treaty to regulate plant material more effectively? Yes they could, just like genebanks already do. And yes, I am sure there are metrics.
Release of two new practical guides to support ex-situ conservation in genebanks. FAO publishes new guides to help genebanks implement the Genebank Standards in practice for non-orthodox seeds and cryopreservation, aiming to reduce technical barriers and improve consistency. Now for some metrics.
Unlocking genebanks for farmer resilience: Assessing the impact of ‘Germplasm User Groups’ in enhancing farmers’ access to diversity. In five African countries, forming “Germplasm User Groups” connecting farmers to national genebanks increases awareness, improves access to crop diversity, generates seed sharing spillovers, and hopefully helps farmers respond to climate-related challenges.

Want to know what AI makes of the above? “Genebanks are sharpening their tools: new metrics set benchmarks for performance, peer reviews foster collaboration, and the Plant Treaty offers clearer rules for sharing, FAO’s practical guides make standards easier to apply, while Germplasm User Groups show how farmers benefit when genebanks open their doors.” Sounds good to me. But to what extent will also this be adopted around the world, and will it last?

September 1, 2025September 1, 2025

Brainfood: Agroecology, Afghan wheat, CWR microbes, Chocolate microbes, Liberica coffee, Wild apples, USDA cotton collection, Parmesan cattle, Sweetpotato genome, Vertical tomatoes

Embracing new practices in plant breeding for agroecological transition: A diversity-driven research agenda. Plant breeding for agroecology will need access to locally-adapted plant diversity, sure, but also the involvement of a diversity of stakeholders and the use of a diversity of co-design strategies.
Conservation and Utilization of Wheat Genetic Resources in Afghanistan Expanded with the Homecoming Wheat Landraces Collected Half a Century Ago. The above could also be said of wheat breeding in Afghanistan. Fingers crossed.
Blueprints for sustainable plant production through the utilization of crop wild relatives and their microbiomes. Oh, wait, breeders (agroecological and otherwise) will also need the diversity of microbiomes associated with crop wild relatives.
A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation. Oh, wait, we will also need the diversity of the microbes involved in fermentation, at some point.
Genomic data define species delimitation in Liberica coffee with implications for crop development and conservation. It might help if we knew how many species made up a crop in the first place. In the case of Liberica coffee, it turns out to be 3. No word on the microbiomes involved.
Assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of Malus sieversii and Malus niedzwetzkyana from Kazakhstan using high-throughput genotyping. It would also help to know where interesting diversity was concentrated within crop wild relatives. In apples, it’s not necessarily the ancestor.
The National Plant Germplasm System cotton collection—a review of germplasm resources, phenotypic characterization, and genomic variation. Lots of morphological characterization and agronomic evaluation, not so much molecular data, but increasing. No word on the microbes.
Establishing a genomic-driven conservation of a cattle genetic resource: the case of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese iconic breed. In contrast, these guys have genotyped practically a whole breed. But yeah, no microbes.
Phased chromosome-level assembly provides insight into the genome architecture of hexaploid sweetpotato. The contributions of different wild relatives to the sweetpotato genome are to be found intertwined along chromosomes rather than restricted to subgenomes. Unclear what that will mean to agroecologial breeders.
Harnessing Green Revolution genes to optimize tomato production efficiency for vertical farming. Agroecological breeders unavailable for comment.

August 25, 2025August 25, 2025

Brainfood: Defining domestication, Pig domestication, Archaeological orphan crops, Levant Neolithic causes, Altiplano agricultural origins, Irish cattle, Islamic Green Revolution, Ancient fish DNA, Ancient Chinese rice

A universally applicable definition for domestication. Domestication is just evolution in anthropogenic environments.
Early evidence for pig domestication (8,000 cal. BP) in the Lower Yangtze, South China. Evolution in anthropogenic environments can follow different pathways.
Orphan crops of archaeology-based crop history research. Some crops are also neglected by archaeologists. Maybe because they weren’t domesticated enough?
Catastrophic fires and soil degradation: possible association with the Neolithic revolution in the southern Levant. Domestication was caused by lightning.
Altiplano agricultural origins was a process of economic resilience, not hardship: Isotope chemistry, zooarchaeology, and archaeobotany in the Titicaca Basin, 5.5-3.0 ka. Farming was not caused by anything so traumatic as lightning on the Altiplano.
Changing human-cattle relationships in Ireland: a 6000-year isotopic perspective. Open land management of cattle in the Iron Age led to their central position in Irish culture. Maybe lightning was involved in clearing the land?
Re-thinking the ‘Green Revolution’ in the Mediterranean world. The impact of the Islamic Green Revolution was down to more than just new crops and irrigation. Bit like the modern Green Revolution then?
Roman Atlantic garum: DNA confirms sardine use and population continuity in north-western Iberia. You can characterize and compare old fish remains based on the DNA that survived fermentation at the bottom of ancient salting vats.
Exploration of crop germplasm resources knowledge mining in Chinese ancient books: a route toward sustainable agriculture. You can characterize and compare old rice varieties based on the descriptions that survived in ancient chronicles. Maybe pig varieties too?

August 18, 2025August 18, 2025

Brainfood: Agroforestry, Afro-descendant conservation, Opportunity crops, Off-farm income, Phureja conservation, European taro, Argania products, Honeybee intensification, Mycorrhizal hotspots

Effects of tree cover and crop diversity on biodiversity and food security in tropical agricultural landscapes. In tropical agricultural landscapes, modest tree cover in diverse cropping systems supports higher biodiversity and higher crop yields, demonstrating that agroforestry can deliver win-win synergy between conservation and food production.
Afro-descendant lands in South America contribute to biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. I guess biodiverse landscapes managed according to traditional knowledge deliver superior environmental outcomes not just in farms with trees but also in forested territories under community management.
Science for Africa’s future food security: reimagining the histories and futures of underutilised crops. Reviving indigenous, underutilised crops in sub-Saharan Africa by restoring their historical and cultural significance can enhance nutritional diversity, climate resilience and food security, paralleling the evidence above that culturally rooted, biodiversity-rich systems are good for both the environment and communities.
Off-farm income and dietary diversity in subsistence farming in Burundi. Across rural and urban settings, from farms to forests to cities, culture-informed, biodiversity-rich food systems offer interlocking benefits: ecological resilience, climate mitigation, improved nutrition, and community empowerment. Or am I stretching a point here?
Cultivar loss and conservation of genetic resources of the phureja potato (Solanum phureja L., Phureja Group) in Peru. Traditional Andean farming communities are witnessing the disappearance of this culturally significant diploid potato group, which has rich genetic diversity and interesting adaptations, highlighting an urgent need for in situ conservation to preserve it. Oh wow, look, locally rooted, biodiversity-rich farming systems, anchored in cultural heritage, are key to sustaining ecosystem services, safeguarding genetic diversity, and building climate-resilient, equitable food futures. Again.
Taro (Colocasia esculenta) in Europe: a journey through fields, botanical gardens, ditches and city markets. This culturally important root crop was introduced in Europe in antiquity and now survives in fields, markets, and even city waterways as both ornament and food, but despite its genetic and cultural richness, it remains under-researched and requires both ex situ and in situ conservation to safeguard its long-term use. So yep, even this one says that conserving crop diversity through culturally embedded, multi-dimensional stewardship is essential for strengthening food security and preserving heritage in a changing climate.
Innovation of argan (Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels) products and byproducts for sustainable development of rural communities in Morocco. A systematic literature review. Innovative uses of argan tree products and by-products in Morocco, from bioplastics and biochar to livestock feed and natural repellents, offer promising pathways for conservation, cultural preservation, and rural economic development, provided local communities are actively engaged in participatory management. Where have I heard that before?
Negative ecological impacts of honeybees begin at densities below recommended levels for crop pollination. Too many honeybee hives can reduce wild bee abundance, species richness, and fruit yield on farms, even when wildflower strips are present, suggesting that ecological balance is disrupted when managed pollinators outcompete native species. Which can probably be cleverly connected with all of the above with a little more time than I have at the moment.
Global hotspots of mycorrhizal fungal richness are poorly protected. What can I tell you, we need in situ conservation for mycorrhiza too. And machine learning can help us figure out where best to do it. For all of the above, and more, naturally.

July 8, 2025July 8, 2025

Brainfood: EcoregionsTreeFinder, Microbe niches, Herbarium phenology, Green Status Index of Species Recovery, Feral pigs, Trade & biodiversity, African cereal self-sufficiency, Plant protection, Ugandan seed systems, Grasspea breeding, Indigenous knowledge

EcoregionsTreeFinder—A Global Dataset Documenting the Abundance of Observations of > 45,000 Tree Species in 828 Terrestrial Ecoregions. The right native tree for your ecoregion of choice. Which, given lots of the stuff below, is good to know. Oh, and BTW, there’s also the Agroforestry Species Switchboard.
Modelling the distribution of plant-associated microbes with species distribution models. Would be cool to mash up with the above one day.
The promise of digital herbarium specimens in large-scale phenology research. Something else you can use herbarium specimens for, if you’re careful.
A global indicator of species recovery. The Green Status Index of Species Recovery, no less. Herbaria surely involved again.
Valorization of feral pigs in the tropics, from the genetic characterization to the re- domestication. Wish there was a Green Status Index of Breed Recovery.
Global staple food trade exacerbates biodiversity loss: a network perspective. Soybeans are messing with the Green Status Index of Species Recovery of lots of species, I suspect.
Prospects for cereal self-sufficiency in sub-Saharan Africa. Prospects for self-sufficiency are not bad, but will require yield increases if the Green Status Index of Species Recovery is not going to take a hit.
Protecting crops with plant diversity: Agroecological promises, socioeconomic lock-in, and political levers. Agroforestry and diverse landscapes are best for pest control, but cultivar mixtures are worth a try too. Wonder what they will do for cereal self-sufficiency in Africa. I lot, I bet, if given a chance.
The dynamics of crop diversity and seed use in the context of recurrent climate shocks and poverty: Seasonal panel data evidence from rural Uganda. Farmers use crop diversity to cope with climate change, and wealthy farmers do it better. Pest control too, maybe?
Understanding Farmer Preferences to Guide Crop Improvement: The Case of Grasspea in Ethiopia. Breeders should provide jam today and jam tomorrow.
Crop diversity trends captured by Indigenous and local knowledge: introduction to the symposium. Indigenous and local knowledge can help you keep track of all of the above.