Nibbles: Using genebanks, Fonio collecting, Bean breeding, Caribbean PGR networking, Cotton breeding, Conflict prevention, Beer foam characterization, Soil microbes, 7ITS

IRRI DG on the Kasalath story and its wider implications.
French collect fonio. Glad someone is.
CIAT bean breeder complains about having too much diversity to play with.
Caribbean needs a regional genebank, catalogue of germplasm. What, still?
Improving cotton in Texas one (or two) chromosomes at the time.
Managing livestock-predator conflicts. The name of the game is prevention.
Candidate gene for improved beer foam identified. I knew all that genomics stuff would come in useful eventually.
Diverse root biome helps plants survive drought.
Gear up for the 7th International Triticeae Symposium, or 7ITS as it is widely, if unfortunately, known.

Big IUCN report says that biodiversity and agriculture are in conflict, they don’t really need to be, but it’s really complicated for them not to be. So that’s us all told.
If only annual crops were perennial, for example, eh?
If only we incorporated more sustainable agriculture in education, for example, eh? Apart from anything else we could still have beer. No word on the role of perennial barley though.
If only improved seeds were open source, for example, eh?
If only we could cryopreserve coral, for example, eh? Wait, what?