The Second Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is on all week at FAO, Rome. Good opportunity to meet up with old friends. Follow the goings on daily at Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
To cull or not to cull
Apparently the argument about whether it’s a good idea or not to cull badgers in areas of bovine TB incidence in the UK is not over yet. Now a farmer weighs in. Well whatever next!
Parasites push promiscuity
Many hermaphrodite plants (and some animals) — including many crops — have what is called a mixed mating reproductive strategy. That means they reproduce by both self- and cross-fertilization, with important consequences for the amount and structure of their genetic variation. The prevalence of mixed mating systems is surprising because inbreeding depression should work to get rid of self-fertilization, resulting in “pure strategies of either outcrossing or selfing.” Now a new study suggests that its natural enemies — pests, parasites, herbivores, etc. — may have a strong effect on the evolution of a plant’s mating systems:
For example, enemies may alter the availability of mates in a population, which may have direct consequences for victim mating system evolution. Enemies may also influence the expression of traits that are important for mating system evolution, thereby improving the evolutionary stability of mixed mating as a reproductive system.
Thus the dynamics of the interactions between a species and the biodiversity that surrounds it can counter the effects of inbreeding depression and lead to the stability of an otherwise doomed evolutionary strategy. I wonder how important this has been in the evolution of agrobiodiversity. After all, concentrating plants in dense near-monocultures like agriculture does is a boon to natural enemies.
Agriculture important, World Bank discovers
The World Bank is suddenly all concerned about agriculture. Within a few days there’s the result of an independent evaluation of its assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, and the latest World Development Report, which focuses on agriculture for development. The NY Times has an article on the African report:
At a time of growing debate about how to combat hunger in Africa, the evaluation team recommended that the bank, the single largest donor for African agriculture, concentrate on helping farmers get the basics they need to grow and market more food: fertilizer, seeds, water, credit, roads.
Ah, seeds. If only it were that easy. The World Development Report 2008 actually refers to the spread of improved varieties as “slow magic” (p. 159, chapter 7), pointing out that crop improvement “has been enormously successful, but not everywhere.” Then, on page 259, in a discussion of the “global agenda for the 21st century,” the money quote:
Conserving genetic resources for future food security. Genetic resources and seeds have been the basis for some of the most successful agricultural interventions to promote growth and reduce poverty (chapter 7). Conserving the world’s rich heritage of crop and animal genetic diversity is essential to future global food security. Gene banks and in situ resources that provide fair access to all countries and equitably share the benefits are a global public good that requires global collective action.
Chapter 8, on Making Agricultural Systems more Environmentally Sustainable, should also make for interesting reading.
Save our shrooms
Meanwhile, the Dutch fight back to save other mushrooms.