Luigi Guarino

March 13, 2018April 9, 2018

Crowdsourcing genebank training needs

USDA-ARS and Colorado State University are organizing a workshop:

To identify the pedagogical options, logistics, and curriculum topics for a U.S. plant genetic resource management training effort, with major emphasis on a distance-learning course.

To design a strategy to develop, deliver, and sustain a plant genetic resource management training program.

They’re asking me for an “international perspective” on what genebank managers should be knowledgeable about, so I’m asking you. But don’t send me a laundry list (there are plenty of curriculums out there), or your favourite topic. What I’d like to know is what ONE topic you think has been neglected in teaching crop diversity conservation in the past, and is unlikely to be revived without a major effort.

All contributions will be gratefully acknowledged in my presentation, needless to say (and I’ll post evidence to that effect in due course).

Thanks!

March 13, 2018

Nibbles: MGIS, DOIs, Lost apples found, Row 7 Seeds, EBN, “Influential” seed people.

Banana people release new banana germplasm database, featuring DOIs.
Video explaining what DOIs are and why they’re cool.
Five apple varieties to get DOIs before it’s too late? Probably not.
“A seed company built by chefs and breeders striving to make ingredients taste better before they ever hit a plate.” Whatever next.
Occupy the food system.
Extension works. In a big way. With agronomy anyway. Think what it could do with seeds…

March 12, 2018March 9, 2018

Brainfood: Core collections, Food system sustainability, Sunflower breeding, Modern/traditional mosaic, Nepal earthquake response, Modelling erosion, Folate in potato, Argentinian andigena, Millet evaluation, Pigeonpea evaluation, Sugarcane evaluation, Bean drought genes, Threatened trees

An informational view of accession rarity and allele specificity in germplasm banks for management and conservation. Basically a better way of making cores.
Multi-indicator sustainability assessment of global food systems. Thankfully includes both “Shannon Diversity of Food Supply” and “Food Production Diversity”. No sign of the Agrobiodiversity Index, though, alas.
Cytoplasmic Diversity Studies in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): A Review. Have the wild relatives to thank for it.
Mosaic of Traditional and Modern Agriculture Systems for Enhancing Resilience. Refers specifically to rice irrigation systems, but could be generalizable, why not?
Post-disaster agricultural transitions in Nepal. To cardamon, mainly.
Simulating the Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Crop Varietal Diversity in Mali (West-Africa) Using Agent-Based Modeling Approach. Less favourable and unstable climatic conditions lead to loss of diversity.
Genetic Diversity in Argentine Andean Potatoes by Means of Functional Markers. There’s a small group of weird, interesting ones.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with high folate content in wild potato species. Ten-fold variation in content in in F2 population derived from cross between high folate diploid clone of wild Solanum boliviense and low/medium folate diploid S. tuberosum. Nice.
Identification of new sources of resistance for pearl millet downy mildew disease under field conditions. 20 really good ones out of 101. Could have been worse.
Assay of Genetic Architecture for Identification of Waterlogging Tolerant Pigeonpea Germplasm. 38 out of 128 survived. People are lucky this week.
Phenotypic evaluation of a diversity panel selected from the world collection of sugarcane (Saccharum spp) and related grasses. Out of 300, 27 were higher than commercial standards in dry or fresh mass. On a roll here.
Genotyping by Sequencing and Genome–Environment Associations in Wild Common Bean Predict Widespread Divergent Adaptation to Drought. Two genes identified. Let’s quit while we’re ahead. No, come on, let’s do another one.
Tree genetic resources at risk in South America: A spatial threat assessment to prioritize populations for conservation. 7 of 80 socieconomically important trees threatened across their range. Damn.

March 11, 2018March 14, 2018

Crowdsinking seeds

The saddest cereal box I’ve ever seen: Honey Nut Cheerios now includes a pack of flower seeds you can plant to help bring back the bees. Source: https://t.co/bSw8vrltvZ pic.twitter.com/rdl5KnlZbp

— Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) March 9, 2018

Sounds like a cool idea, no?

Well, maybe not so much: “context is important.”

LATER: Or maybe not so bad after all?

March 10, 2018March 4, 2026

Nibbles: Gros Michel, Poultry photos, Pigeonpea prebreeding, Murnong, Wheat breeding, Hass, Indian forest foods, Popcorn domestication, Mustard history, Historical botanists, Barges & Bread, Samoan distilling, Kenyan brewing

The quest for Big Mike. No, not Stormy Daniels’ latest. It’s a banana.
Ok, I’m going to resist the temptation of making the obvious follow-up joke in connection with this gallery of beautiful chickens.
Who needs chickens when you have pigeons. Ah, no, these are pigeonpeas.
Australia’s answer to the potato. Unclear what the question was.
Australia’s answer to frost-sensitive wheat: look in genebanks for resistant stuff.
The mother of all avocados. Kind of a Hass-been, though.
Avocado shmavocado, says India.
Are you not entertained? Have some popcorn!
And mustard for that hotdog. You know, like Mesolithic people did.
History of plant collecting double feature: Bradby Blake & Frank N. Meyer.
Listen to Jeremy on how grain made its way up the Thames.
A lot of grain also makes its way to Ft Collins. See what I did there?
Taro whiskey: I’ll drink to that.
Kenyan coffee to finish things off? Maybe not for long.