Luigi Guarino

May 26, 2014

Featured: Jam for tea

Patrick has “a lot of respect for Mr de Schutter,” but begs to differ on his take on sugar and salt, which we Nibbled:

Not only is there very little reason to classify sugar and salt as ‘bad’, but they are essential ingredients in traditionally processed foods.

Read the whole comment.

May 26, 2014May 26, 2014

Brainfood: Yam tissue culture, Barley core, Date genome, Ecosystem services & land use change, Remote sensing and conservation, Okra diversity, Carob diversity, Mexican genebank project, Chicken skin music, Mongolian camel, Coloured rice

Effect of various growth regulators on growth of yam (Dioscorea trifida L.) in vitro shoot tips. One small step for yam cryopreservation.
The USDA Barley Core Collection: Genetic Diversity, Population Structure, and Potential for Genome-Wide Association Studies. 5 sub-populations: roughly, Mediterranean, W Europe, E Europe, Asia and Ethiopia. GWAS effective in locating important phenotypes.
A first genetic map of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) reveals long-range genome structure conservation in the palms. Lots of synteny with oil palm and coconut despite differences in genome size. And we now (probably) know how sex determination works.
Economic evaluation of ecosystem goods and services under different landscape management scenarios. Agriculture usually wins at the expense of more “ecological” land uses, unless income from C and biodiversity (and timber) go up, or discount rates go down.
Oil in the Sahara: mapping anthropogenic threats to Saharan biodiversity from space. You can spot biodiversity threats from space. More examples along the same lines.
Genetic and morphological diversity of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus [L.] Moench.) genotypes and their possible relationships, with particular reference to Greek landraces. Much phenotypic variation, less AFLP variation, but geographically structured. Germination characteristics vary with ecology.
Genetic diversity revealed by EST-SSR markers in carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.). First time carbob has been genotyped using microsatellites. And that seems to be the only reason why this work was done.
Investigation of the genetic diversity of domestic Capra hircus breeds reared within an early goat domestication area in Iran. Breeds are diverse but geographically distinct, the western ones especially. Unlike sheep, which are moved around a lot more. Some evidence of inbreeding, which can and should be counteracted.
Diversity Assessment and Development of Sustainable Use of Mexican Genetic Resources: Prospects of a SATREPS Project. That would be Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development, between the Japanese and Mexican genebanks. Looks like a lot of genotyping and in vitro conservation research on lesser-known crops.
Establishing the validity of domestication genes using DNA from ancient chickens. You really need ancient DNA to study domestication.
Genetic diversity and population structure of Mongolian domestic Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus). No breeds, no problem.
Exploring Variability: New Brazilian Varieties SCS119 Rubi and SCS120 Onix for the Specialty Rices Market. Brazilian hipsters now have red and black rice.

May 23, 2014May 23, 2014

Nibbles: Genebanks list, Fish & trees, Indian seed fair, Junk food, Geographic indications, NZ & Canadian heirloom seeds

A new Twitter list on ex situ plant conservation. Subscribe!
Yeah we need a new Twitter list like fish need trees. No, wait…
“64 traditional varieties of paddy, vegetables and millets will be exhibited.”
Junk food worse than tobacco, UN says.
An overview of origin-linked products. No junk food there.
New Zealand heirloom seed collection in trouble.
Canadian heirloom seed collection takes off. Maybe these two should talk?

May 22, 2014May 22, 2014

Nibbles: Seed drying, Yield gap trap, African fermentation, Rice & temp, Cultural exchange, Youth, Syria and ICARDA

How to keep seeds dry. Don’t do this at home, folks! No, wait…
Don’t get trapped in the yield gap, researchers told.
Diana Buja breaks down banana brewing.
Night temperatures cross important threshold for rice.
Cultural change does not have to mean genetic erosion and loss of agrobiodiversity knowledge.
Getting youth back into agriculture. Not just about the money.
Latest from the tragic ICARDA situation

May 22, 2014May 22, 2014

You may remember my quandary over the meaning of the name of the sorghum variety Gadam El Hamam. Well, I had the opportunity of asking real experts at the ICRISAT office in Nairobi yesterday. They confirmed, first of all, that the Gadam sorghum that is being so successfully used in beer brewing in Kenya is indeed a selection from the Sudanese variety Gadam El Hamam. And after a quick email to their Sudanese sorghum breeder colleague based in Addis Ababa, we solved the mystery of the name. It turns out the correct transliteration is Gadam Elhmam, which means “Pigeon Foot” in Arabic. This is apparently a trope that is used in Sudanese poetry and songs to describe a beautiful lady. So I more or less had the bits, but I could not put them together. Thanks to all at ICRISAT in Nairobi for helping me do that at last.

Incidentally, the photo is of a beautiful Faidherbia albida tree on the ICRAF campus in Nairobi, which is where the ICRISAT regional office is housed. You may be able to make out from that the Napier grass and mulberries are taller and more lush just under the tree as compared to further back. They don’t call Faidherbia the cornerstone of “evergreen agriculture” (big PDF) for nothing.

Author: Luigi Guarino

Featured: Jam for tea

Brainfood: Yam tissue culture, Barley core, Date genome, Ecosystem services & land use change, Remote sensing and conservation, Okra diversity, Carob diversity, Mexican genebank project, Chicken skin music, Mongolian camel, Coloured rice

Nibbles: Genebanks list, Fish & trees, Indian seed fair, Junk food, Geographic indications, NZ & Canadian heirloom seeds

Nibbles: Seed drying, Yield gap trap, African fermentation, Rice & temp, Cultural exchange, Youth, Syria and ICARDA

Pigeon Foot sorghum unmasked