Genebanks in trouble in Syria and India. One of these stories is somewhat overdone.
And that, it seems, is your lot for today.
One Reply to “Nibbles: Genebanks on the edge”
Indian genebank: Sharma claims that a : “‘hopelessly useless’ wild wheat plant from Turkey” that saved the US from stripe rust. Can anyone confirm my suspicion that this was actually a crop species – Triticum aestivum (PI 178383) – and not wild? I would hate for the current crop wild relative band-waggon to be based on false hopes.
These claims by NGOs of national treasures in genetic resources are entirely counter-productive. Countries will play dog-in-the-manger: sitting on resources of far greater value to other countries. How about working out what India gained from rust resistance from CIMMYT wheats and also its vast national consumption of Capsicum from the Americas? And all the rest of it: nearly 70% of crop production in Africa and Latin America from introduced crops. NGO activism on this issue will starve the vulnerable poor.
Indian genebank: Sharma claims that a : “‘hopelessly useless’ wild wheat plant from Turkey” that saved the US from stripe rust. Can anyone confirm my suspicion that this was actually a crop species – Triticum aestivum (PI 178383) – and not wild? I would hate for the current crop wild relative band-waggon to be based on false hopes.
These claims by NGOs of national treasures in genetic resources are entirely counter-productive. Countries will play dog-in-the-manger: sitting on resources of far greater value to other countries. How about working out what India gained from rust resistance from CIMMYT wheats and also its vast national consumption of Capsicum from the Americas? And all the rest of it: nearly 70% of crop production in Africa and Latin America from introduced crops. NGO activism on this issue will starve the vulnerable poor.