Luigi Guarino

February 1, 2009February 2, 2009

The Tale of the Bizzarria

I totally agree with the Evil Fruit Lord that the story of the periclinal citrus chimera known as Bizzarria is both fascinating and very well told over at Home Citrus Growers. I know what I’ll be doing the next time I’m in Florence.

February 1, 2009February 1, 2009

Nibbles: Vanilla, Bhutan, Oca, Satoyama

Vanilla domestication 101.
Bhutan ponders biodiversity database. We say: Don’t forget the crops, people.
“Crap crops of the Incas.” One man’s on-off relationship with oca.

Satoyama: Japan’s Secret Water Garden. A different approach to rice.

January 30, 2009January 31, 2009

Confusion at New Scientist

The New Scientist’s blogger manages to confuse the Svalbard Global Seed Vault with the Millennium Seed Bank. I guess it was inevitable.

LATER: No, it wasn’t me that left that first, rude comment! And I’m offended that you think it might have been.

January 30, 2009

Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award

Don’t forget to vote!

January 30, 2009

Call for info

Got any information on the effect of climate change on heritage apples? Barbara Tremain-Howard over at Fruit Forum would like to hear from you.

Fresh Nibbles

Haga Hideo’s 1950s photos of Fukushima farming rituals are now being used to revive them: ex situ conservation, but for culture.
Long before photography, or “pre‑breeding” was a buzzword, Belgian pomologist Jean‑Baptiste Van Mons was running massive pear selection trials and gifting us Beurré Bosc and Doyenné Boussock.
As Southern Africa’s miombo woodlands shrinks, scientists are cloning wild trees so the fruit — and food security — outlive the forest. Now for the pre-breeding.
Greenpeace Africa’s Seed Project makes the case for indigenous seeds as a route to farmer independence. And you can help.
And oh so coincidentally, a network of community seed banks in Kenya is rescuing indigenous seeds so the diversity is still around when opportunity (or crisis) knocks.
Also in Kenya, the national genebank’s collectors are racing to secure opportunity crops.
Nepal’s indigenous crops and landraces are at the same time more needed than ever, and under threat. So, much like in Kenya.
The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT says women are at the center of sustainable food systems; the fine print adds: “as they have always been.”

Published on September 30, 2026