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Ukraine national genebank endures

If you’re worried about the Ukraine genebank, the latest news is that it’s still ok. Here’s the official (maybe?) statement:

Due to the shelling by Russian troops of the Juriev Institute’s premises, the part of the specimens that were being prepared for regeneration were destroyed. The main collection is unharmed.

And Newsweek has done the factchecking.

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Bean there, done that

I don’t think we’ve mentioned the Global Bean Project, but it sounds like fun.

More than 40 partners across Europe, as well as in Kenya and India, share and showcase inspiring experiences and practical knowledge about legume cultivation and consumption: public gardens and seed exchanges, monthly meetings and lectures, information sheets and promotional media.

Thanks to the always useful Seeds4All Newsletter for the headsup.

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Brainfood: Landrace gaps, Musa gaps, Teff use, Wheat evolution, NUS services, Phenotyping, Harappan residues, Food trade

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How to prevent the next crop pandemic

He suggests creating a global “fire brigade” of 3,000 experts scattered around the world, recruited for skills ranging from epidemiology and genetics, through drug and vaccine development and computer modelling, to diplomacy. This outfit, which would probably work under the auspices of the World Health Organisation, would remain on permanent standby, ready to respond to any detected outbreak.

That’s Bill Gates in his new book on How to Prevent the Next Pandemic, according to a review in The Economist. Which should remind us all that something similar has been mooted for crop diseases. What with the International Day of Plant Health coming up, it would be good to know where we are with that idea now.

LATER: I had something to say about the International Day of Plant Health over at work.

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Olive genebanks are the genuine article

It sounds like the International Olive Genebanks are inching towards Article 15 status under the Plant Treaty.

And that may soon include a fourth collection.

Today, a network of 20 national olive germplasm banks is affiliated with the IOC network, which is also connected to the three current international banks located in Córdoba, Spain, Marrakech, Morocco, and Izmir, Turkey.

So what? Well…

Under Article 15 of the International Treaty, international institutions holding collections of crop germplasm can sign agreements with the Governing Body, in order to make the collections available worldwide under the Multilateral System and benefit from financial and technical assistance for maintenance and improvement of the collections.