February 2, 2022 by Luigi Guarino

Nibbles: Banana futures, Strawberry breeding, Maize & climate change

Latest on the banana going extinct.
Latest on the UC Davis strawberry breeding saga.
Latest on how to explain what’s happened to maize yields in the Midwest.

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1. New webinar series from the American Society of Plant Biologists will explore how underutilized (or is it opportunity) crops like amaranth can contribute to nutrition, food security and rural livelihoods.
2. FARA highlights the tiny West African grain fonio as another crop with potential to improve nutrition, strengthen food systems and create new opportunities for farmers and value chains.
3. Taiwanese tea has travelled an unlikely route into northern Thailand. It too was an opportunity crop at one time.
4. Ethiopian farmers may have been practising regenerative agriculture for millennia, mixing wheat, barley and other grains in the same field. The Rockefeller Foundation is on it.
5. Efforts to restore the Al Qarara Seed Bank in Gaza are offering a small but significant form of agricultural recovery.
6. In Nepal, indigenous seeds are losing ground to hybrids, but seed advocates are fighting back.
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Published on August 22, 2026