Luigi Guarino

September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

Giant fruit update

For some reason, this seems to be the time of year which the media sets aside for stories on large fruits. Or largish, anyway. Because I may be spoilt by my time in the tropics, but this “Avozilla” doesn’t look like such a big avocado to me. I was hoping I’d be able to be more precise about this, but I couldn’t find systematic characterization data on the world’s avocado collections, not even in GRIN. And no, I’m not impressed that Avozilla has its own Twitter account either:

“@DailyMailUK: AVOZILLA, world's largest avocado goes on sale at Tesco http://t.co/8wCZl4WiNA pic.twitter.com/gLEV98M0It” Yes, I'm here!

— Avozilla (@Avozilla) September 2, 2013

And likewise, 14-15 grams is not bad for an olive, but there’s bigger, and not all of them are from Italy.

September 2, 2013

Featured: Santorini

Dirk sets us straight on those Santorini sweet peas:

The charred sweet peas from Santorini are actually Lathyrus clymenum, the Santorini Fava bean. The crop is still cultivated on the island. Prepared as a pulse, Santorini fava is eaten by tourists and locals. No worries about seed toxins which are identical and at higher levels than those in grasspea.

September 2, 2013September 2, 2013

Brainfood: Pests & CC, Germplasm pix, Latvian legume rescue, Estonian potatoes, NZ genebanks, Yam polyploids, Tree evaluation, Ethiopian veggie, European seed law, Zulu sheep, Celosia management

Crop pests and pathogens move polewards in a warming world. At 3 km/year.
Systems for making NIAS Core Collections, single-seed-derived germplasm, and plant photo images available to the research community. The next level in genetic resources documentation?
Recovering Genetic Resources of Some Legume Species of Latvian Origin by Plant Tissue Culture. You have to work at it.
Overview of in vitro Preservation of Potato and Use of the Gene Bank Material in Estonia. They like coloured potatoes in Estonia.
The key roles of seed banks in plant biodiversity management in New Zealand. Are many and varied.
Microsatellite and flow cytometry analysis to help understand the origin of Dioscorea alata polyploids. Unreduced gametes did it.
Genetic variation in progenies of Jacaranda cuspidifolia Mart using the fan systematic design. Yon can measure genetic variation and evaluate performance under different spacings at the same time, which is important in a tree.
Diversity analysis in Plectranthus edulis (Vatke) Agnew collection in Ethiopia. As ever, a considerable amount of variability was found. Oh hum.
The European seed legislation on conservation varieties: focus, implementation, present and future impact on landrace on farm conservation. There should be more landraces in the Common Catalogue.
Characterization of Zulu sheep production system: Implications for conservation and improvement. If they’re so drought tolerant, why is drought threatening them? Well, there’s drought, and then there’s drought.
Effects of paraquat on genetic diversity and protein profiles of six varieties of Celosia in South-Western Nigeria. That would be a tasty and diverse local leafy green. Well, before the paraquat anyway.

September 2, 2013September 2, 2013

Nibbles: Landscapes pod, Tartiness evolution, Diversity pix, Eve Crowley vid, Commons debate, Subsidies, Arabidopsis database, Beard beer, Kew herbarium vid, Minoan pests, FDish seeds, Extinction is forever

CIFOR scientist talks about the much-vaunted landscape approach.
The repeated evolution of lemony flavour.
Nice infographic of breadfruit diversity in the Pacific.
Better infographic of chili pepper diversity in Mexico. Both are on Facebook. Hope you guys can see them.
FAO’s Eve Crowley is didactic and inspirational by turns about women, co-operatives and rural development.
Hardin vs Ostrom. Walk-over.
How much does production have to increase, really? Lobell deals the cards.
What are the effects of input subsidies on maize prices in Malawi and Zambia? Small to none.
Plant database to charge for access? Never a good idea.
Ok, here’s a first, a beer I don’t altogether feel like tasting.
Last days of the soybean homecoming show in Hong Kong. Anybody out there seen it?
Video on the intricacies of Kew. Not as long as you’d think.
Weevils in sweet pea jar pinpoint season of Santorini eruption. Has anyone tried to recover DNA from the seeds?
Experts for ensuring quality fish seeds to enhance production. Say what?
How should we mark the extinction of the passenger pigeon next year?

August 30, 2013August 30, 2013

Nibbles: Kenyan millet, Nutritious fruits, Homegardens, Schools, CIAT genebank funding

Millet helps sends Kenyan to college. Which millet though?
Some fruits, but not juice, good against diabetes. Coconut not included, alas. Nor bananas, for all their recently revised taxonomic goodness.
Which both seem as good reasons as any to grown your own.
And teach about them in schools.
And conserve them in genebanks. Ok, this piece from CIAT is about neither millets nor fruits, but it’s friday, gimme a break.